Forever Family
by Masstheory
Summary: "My family is my strength and my weakness." -Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
1. Chapter 1

**Hello viewers! I wish to explain this. For those of you that know the fate of my last story, no worries, I have three copies of this one, so if I lose it, it will be on purpose. But onto the story. I present to you a story with two Shepards, sister and brother. It may be a slightly overuse prompt but it is still entertaining! I'm starting out post ME1, just after the destruction of the Normandy. I also plan on making Jack and Kasumi more involved than the other characters because Kasumi wasn't given proper dialogue and Jack's story just feels unfinished unless you romance her so. Anyone who knows me, knows I love Shep/Tali romance so that will be one romance. I'm sure you will figure out the other one by yourself. It's not hard. Really, it isn't. Just read the story.**** It's Garrus. Choices made in ME1 are but not excluded to Wrex is saved, Ashley killed on Virmire, Kirrahe saved as well, saved Council. I'll leave Rachni Queen and other smaller decisions to voters since most don't seem to matter much in Mass Effect 2. Another thing. I imagine my Shepards as mostly paragons with Renegade mixed in healthily. **

Johanna put her cigarette in her mouth and took a long inhale from the cancer stick as the robber held his gun at her head. At first glance, she was a person that most rational people wouldn't mess with. Light Hopelite armor made her look more the part of a stronger frontline fighter than she actually was, but by no means was she a woman incapable of handling herself. However, she didn't wear the helmet that came with it, giving away her unusually thin form and medium length bright red hair. Bored green eyes stared down the man with the gun, their cold malice trying to warn the man from continuing his robbery. A long thin scar started from the left corner of her mouth and trailed all the way to her left eye. The robber pressed the cold barrel of the gun against her head and bared his teeth. In response, she blew the smoke from her cigarette in his face, clearly seeing this man as an obvious junkie. "Are you gonna demand something? Or just stare at me?" She finally mentioned, the man not demanding money or anything of value.

"I want your credits!" He yelled at the top of his voice. Shepard sighed and rolled her eyes, not sure why she had expected something more interesting.

"Nothing more interesting? I have a Karpov X and top of the line armor, but you want just regular credits. That's just fucking stupid. I can hold, what, a thousand, maybe two thousand credits. This stuff can go for over ten thousand credits each." She badgered the man. The man growled at this and pressed the gun harder into her forehead. She didn't even take a step back, staring at the man with as much warning as she could without pulling her gun.

"NOW!" Johanna sighed and dropped her cigarette on the ground, realizing there was no point in trying to reason with this junkie. The man made the mistake of glancing at her cigarette as it fell, a fatal mistake when facing someone like her. The moment his eyes left her, she dove forward and drove an armored elbow into the man's chest. As he stumbled back, she jumped forward and sent a vicious kick into the same place she hit the first time, sending the man to the floor. Then drawing her pistol, she placed a single boot on the man's neck and zeroed the sights on his head, her finger hovering above the trigger. Everything went silent. The man's eyes looked up at the woman, terrified and bulging as his air supply was slowly cut off while green eyes returned the stare, even and uncaring. Then, without warning, she collapsed her pistol and kicked the man's pistol in between two nearby crates.

"You are lucky I have somewhere to be, jackass." She told him, before taking her foot off of his neck and then walked away from him. She didn't have team to deal with C-Sec. The man scrambled to grab the gun but stopped when a grenade slapped on the crate the gun was in, prompting him to scramble away just in time to avoid the explosion. Johanna smiled to herself as she though_ Should have left well enough alone asshole _before activating her tactical cloak.

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She slipped past the two guards at the entrance without difficulty, as they were too busy holding off the people who weren't permitted. It angered her that so many people would attempt to get in. While some may have genuine reasons for being there, many of them clearly only wanting in on the publicity. Still, she couldn't complain too much, giving her enough of a distraction that none of the guards noticed the occasional glimmer as the tactical cloak readjusted to its surroundings. She looked around at her surroundings. It was in an Alliance dreadnaught, directly in the hangar. Of course, the ships had been cleared out and replaced with cheap metal chairs, set up in several rows. Almost all of them had Alliance Marines sitting in them, backs straight and heads held high. The first row on the left side was the only one that held any type of diversity among its participants. A Krogan, Turian, Quarian, and Asari sat together, not at one another's throats but without any type of tension between them, the Asari and the Quarian weeping while the Turian and Krogan offered silent mourning. _Like a damn true soldier. _Several humans did sit with them, but all but a few lacked the military uniform that marked them as a marine.

On a platform that stood in front of the two groups of chairs, sat another diversity of people, not only in species but in class as well. They were the councilors and ambassadors that were among the citadel, many showing their face only out of respect but a few had a personal reason for being there, mostly because they owed their lives to the man who died. Whether they actually cared for him or not was another matter altogether. Sure, general respect was throughout the entire room at this man, but she had the feeling only the first row truly felt a sense of loss at his death. Sighing with irritation, she slowly began to walk up the aisle.

Despite being invisible, she felt as though all the eyes were on her as she walked, remembering the first time she had to do this. She had a flower then, a bright red rose, plucked directly from earth. It was always her favorite, having heard countless stories about their beauty. This time, it was something different. It was a pair of dog tags, not the man's who had died, but sharing the first and last name nonetheless. It was old and rusted, still on actual metal despite the conversion to holotags. It had a certain rustic feel to it, one that almost made her homesick every time she looked at it. God, this walk was too slow. If only she could go faster without drawing attention. She may be invisible but she still could make enough noise to impress a Krogan baby.

When she reached the platform, her heart rate began to speed up and her throat closed. Why was this so hard? She had already shed any tears she had for this man, before dutifully wiping her eyes and pretending that it was common news. Johanna wished she could clear her throat but she knew the disembodied sound would draw attention. Now the hard part came. Slowly, she took her first step onto the platform where the councilors and the ambassadors stood. The platform squeaked slightly , only enough to draw the attention of the Turian ambassador, his alien hearing being the most superior of the group. She stood stock still, knowing that the more movement she made, the more likely the tactical cloak was to readjust and give her away. Thankfully, the turian shrugged to himself and returned back to the service as a scarred Admiral stepped forward to speak. She waited until he began his speech, ignoring his recited words to say at every soldier's funeral and used the distraction to pull herself up. This time, the turian ignored the squeaked, having thoroughly convinced himself that it was merely because of the number of people on the stage.

Each step took almost a full minute to take, the platform barely accommodating the few it already had on. She had barely reached the coffin as the Admiral finally gave way for the twenty-one gun salute. It was an ancient tradition, dating back into the 20th century almost. They still used the traditional guns, though there had been talk of switching to the first model of the Avenger rifle, which had been designed much like their predecessors in the Marine's hands. She remembered the first time those guns had been fired, how her heart raced and her mind went scared for a second. Those ancient guns were nothing like the guns now, clunky and loud, one shot enough to echo for miles. She remembered, like a scarred child, taking the hand nearest to her in comfort. Now, when they fired, she didn't even flinch, her only worry was if some idiot loaded his gun with an actual bullet that would ricochet of the interior of the ship.

She approached the coffin, a black and unexciting thing with only a monogram of N7 on the upper corner, where the left shoulder of the deceased should be. Another ancient tradition, though with slight modifications. She remembered how the first time she saw this, it wasn't N7 but a simple alliance mark, for a bland and ordinary soldier. Not like the coffin in front of her. One that got even the attention of the council, who no doubt hardly attended such events. She almost scoffed aloud at what would be said between those who truly grieved and those who were here purely for show. She anticipate yelling and screaming, and with a sliver of hope, maybe a few gunshots. However, circumstances would prevent her from watching such an event.

She noticed a picture, on a small stand near the edge of the platform. A much younger man was presented in the picture compared to the man in the coffin. This after all, was the teenage version of him, fresh off planet side and with a head full of delusions. His azure eyes stared determined into the camera, his mouth remaining neutral though anyone who knew him could tell he was fighting his constant smile. His head was freshly shaven, the style that remained throughout his career. His nose was crooked ever so slightly, not enough to notice by those who did not spend a long time studying his face and a small scar ran under his eye. His jaw was strong and blocky, the perfect fit for a man who had his aura of command and his abnormally large ears stuck out from beneath his military cap. A sad smile crossed her lips as her fingers edged near the picture.

She remembered the constant revered talks of the brave warriors in space and the idea of being the best of them all. _Well, guess it wasn't a delusion._ She touched the picture, lightly and with care, not only because she wanted to mask her presence. She remembered how on his first day of boot camp, his goofy grin got him yelled at constantly by the instructor, who failed to destroy it despite many tries. He remembered all the times he got in trouble because he hardly followed typical alliance protocol, such as addressing subordinates by their first names and asking personal questions rather than sticking to the jobs they were assigned. How the man ever came to command the most advanced stealth ship in the entire galaxy was beyond her reasoning. _Johnathon Shepard, you are an asshole for dying._

She didn't delay much longer, knowing that soon, people would come onto the platform one at a time to pay their respect. Johnathon always wanted a funeral like he saw in the old movies, where people could pay their respects to his body before they spaced it towards the nearest sun. She never liked the idea of being spaced into the sun herself, the whole thing seeming as though it was ripped off from some cheesy sci-fi film. However, they had to do the funeral closed casket, lacking a body to display since the real one got spaced in the Terminus systems. The idea of using a VI had been tossed about however, many said it would be too disrespectful for those who knew him.

She lowered the dog tags in her hand onto the spot next to the picture, still hidden under her tactical cloak, she knew the moment she let go, it would become visible and the keen eyed people would finally notice her. Sighing, she paid her final respects and knew it was time to go. _Say hi to them for me, asshole._ However, before she let go, her eyes caught something that was right next to her intended spot for the current tags. She nodded, deciding upon something else, she went about her business.

She knew she had been spotted, judging by the harsh glare that she had felt the moment she had finished her business. She felt it until she left the dreadnaught and turned down the alleyway that the junkie had attempted to mug her at. The keepers had already repaired the damaged caused by her explosion and even replaced the crates that she had turned to dust. So, why she was currently sitting on top of those crates, with her tactical cloak deactivated and in full lighting without her gun drawn, was something she knew was dumb. Still, like Johnathon, her curiosity often got the better of her, and she had to meet the person who had seen through her theft.

She didn't wait long before an angry looking Turian rounded the corner, followed by a Krogan in bright red battlearmor. They spotted her almost immediately, raising their weapons, both barrels lined up with vital spots on her. She didn't run, just put up her hands in defense as she sat a few feet above her head. "Who do you think you are?" The turian asked, his voice hoarse and filled with righteous anger. It almost made her laugh.

"That depends Garrus. Who do you think I am?" She asked, lowering her hands and placing one on her knee as she stared down at them. The turian looked shock at her knowledge of his name and she used this brief shock to level a gun on his head. "Never let your guard down. An experienced man like you should know that." She calmly told him, despite the Krogan's finger inching ever closer to the trigger of his gun though amusement shone in his red eyes. She collapsed her gun once more, and held up her hands in a small surrender, her fun over.

"I think you're a common thief. Desecrating a great man's funeral with your petty theft." He told her. She chuckled at that.

"Keen eyes, to notice something a slight as that. Must be a sniper and have experience with military protocol. Your skills are largely underappreciated in C-Sec. That or I'm getting sloppy." She shrugged as she twirled the holotags on her fingers to confirm the accusations of the turian. "You'd make a good merc, if you ever get that stick out of your ass."

"I like this one. Shame I have to shoot her." Wrex laughed with amusement as he lowered his weapon to a non-vital spot. Garrus didn't follow his suit, choosing to keep his weapon trained on the woman in front of him.

"I want the holotags back." The turian demanded.

"Sorry. Afraid I can't take you up on that. They're rightfully mine." She told him as she put the holotags around her neck. His eyes narrowed as only a turian's can and her shot her a look that put a hint of caution into her spine. She liked that feeling, having thought she was all but immune to it due to her line of business. She felt that a fight between her and this turian would be quite the show.

"A thief like you will only pawn them off onto the highest bidder and then it'll become the trophy to some scum on the universe." The turian accused once more, his finger pulling the trigger ever so slightly. She laughed once more at this, though this one was far less amused than her previous ones.

"As tempting as that'd be. I'm afraid I'll have to keep John's holotags. It'll be a nice reminder of what a pain in the ass he used to be." She said as she looked down at the holotags. Out of instinct, she raised her biotic barrier as a bullet careened towards her, barely blocking the projectile with a powerful biotic barrier. "Shame he's gone." She continued without even looking up.

"I will be a much bigger pain in the ass if you don't give them back now." Garrus threatened as menacingly as he could. It wasn't that his threat wasn't scary, as he said it with as much malice and anger as he could possibly muster, it was just that Johanna had faced much larger and dangerous people that had told her the same thing though in other words and in other condition, so she hardly paid him mind in order to check a message that she had received in her omni-tool. Sighing with defeat as she read the message, she realized that playtime was over. A customer was already demanding another pair of GARDIAN cannons despite having got some last week.

"Sorry, Garrus, but you could never be as much as a pain in the ass as my twin." With that, she activated her tactical cloak and leapt off the boxes. She heard the Krogan laughing with delight at the revelation of another Shepard.

"I like this family!" He declared as he sent a bullet in her direction but missed rather horridly. She stopped when she finally out of range of the service pistol that the turian was using, thinking back to the former C-Sec operative. John sure did know how to pick his friends, both clearly ready to kill her over a lousy set of holotags that weren't even the original pair. Shame she couldn't meet them when her brother was still alive and kicking though it wouldn't have nearly been as much fun. With a slight laugh, she continued to leave, heading for the docks.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Heyo! We are here again. This is a bit early for most of my updates but I figured hey, why not. Things to mention: 1. I imagine my Male Shepard as a very powerful vanguard (like one of the closest to Jack's level without having modifications. Don't worry, compared to Jack and Samara he is still somewhat weak.) My Female Shepard is more of an Adept/ Infiltrator class, a low level biotic with a massive amount of technical savantness. 2. I have no idea but it looks weird with just one number. Read, Enjoy, Review.**_

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_**TWO YEARS LATER…**_

Johanna Shepard sighed as she faced down the barrel of a gun that was held by her second in command, a slimy salarian by the name of Jarik. Down below, she could hear the explosions and deathly cries of those who had remained loyal to her and those that Jarik had sent to slaughter them all. "So Jarik, I assume this isn't about me denying you a raise." She commented sitting back in her seat. They were in the top floor of her building, a five story apartment that she had completely bought out and turned into a blackmarket. Sure, everything was make-do and made mostly out of abandoned construction supplies but it was one of the most infamous black markets up to date. Of course, something as large as that required a very large security force to keep the peace prompting her to hire a branch of eclipse led by a Salarian named Jarik. Of course, she had hired other, smaller merc bands but kept the majority as Eclipse, a mistake both her and her loyal men seemed to be paying for at the moment. She took a long inhale from her cigarette as she thought about how big of blunder she made this time, before putting out the cigarette.

He wasn't too impressive to look at. Like most Salarians he had thin arms and a small frame even when wearing the Salarian equivalent to heavy armor. He was a dark green, with one of his head tendrils missing from a fight he had been in with a krogan. However, his track record was nearly perfect and his employers never complained, which of course had drawn her attention. Although, looking back on it now, she was never sure if the employers never complained or they simply weren't around to do so. Perhaps she should have been more thorough in her investigation into his track record, but impatience and boredom had caused her to throw caution to the wind. He sneered, a grotesque look on his oddly shaped face. "We're tired of watching you pawn away all this beautiful tech. We just figured if we killed you, we would get it free of cost and without the hassle of trying to buy."

"I doubt it's something as simple as that." Johanna laughed as she sat back in her chair, folding her hands together behind her head as she stared him down, leather dress squeaking in anger. She wished she had at least had her armor on instead of her casual wear. Jarik had to choose to ambush her after getting back from a party that had required her to break out her old black leather dress. Her Predator pistol was at her side, having never left home without it since she got into this line of business, but she knew that a single move towards it would splatter her brains on the glass behind her. She rather liked her brains.

"It is." Jarik growled, his finger slowly pulling the trigger back. Too slow though, Johanna knew that it wouldn't fire for about thirty seconds and even then, it would be easy enough to dodge. She knew that he would stop before he fired however, more interested in what she had to say rather than killing her. A Shepard family trait as her brother had once bragged. Johanna glanced out the corner of her eye as her last merc was blasted through the head by Jarik's man, ending what chance they had to survive. It was a shame, she rather liked many of those mercs.

"Can I expect to be released if I was to tell go ahead and take them all? I have a feeling you would still pull that trigger out of some perverted pleasure." She shrugged, unfolding her hands from behind her head and resting her head on one of them. Her relaxed position only put the Salarian on edge even more, causing his scowl to deepen and the grip on his gun to tighten. Outside, the screaming started again, subsiding his anger enough that he smiled. He was so amused, that he didn't even notice when his omni-tool lit up with an incoming message.

"Maybe I will, just to put you in your place." He growled, with a sadistic laugh. Johanna just smiled as she slowly put the clues together. The screaming outside, the beeping omni-tool. A toddler could put it together, provided the toddler was alert enough to do so. Jarik didn't notice, which made her rethink her previous inclination that all Salarians were smart.

"And just how do you plan on doing that?" She laughed at him once more, her tone mocking as she realized the events that were unfolding outside with full clarity. This actually made the Salarian laugh this time, the absurdity of the statement obvious to anyone who did not know what the woman knew. In which case, Jarik's mocking was the thing to be laughing at.

"I have the gun you know." He pointed out, ever so simply. He was sure that the fear was causing her mind to confuse itself, making it so to the point that she thought she was the one in charge. Johanna just laughed again and motioned towards the window with one hand.

"Those aren't my men screaming Jarik." She revealed, causing the Salarian to halt. It was only then that he noticed his beeping omni-tool. Quickly, he activated it and was immediately met with the hurried reports of his top Lieutenant. The only thing that the human got out was something about a Turian and a bunch of humans soldiers storming the building before a gunshot ended the conversation. Jarik growled and moved to contact the men he had in the adjoining room to assist the Lieutenant's team when the cold barrel of a Predator pistol touching the spot between his two tendrils. "I don't know about you, but I feel that turning your back on an armed enemy is the dumbest move ever." Johanna commented as she stepped up close to the man's back, pressing the gun harder and harder into the Salarian's head. "I must say Jarik, I am rather disappointed in your lack of confidence in my ability. I have said again and again, never lose interest in your enemy. You will die if they are competent. You make that mistake only once." She stated, then pulling the trigger back as she talked. Jarik opened his mouth in an attempt to beg but, not wanting to hear any weak willed excuse, she yanked back on the trigger.

The Salarian's body fell to the floor in a heap, splattering her floor and her gun in the brain matter of the traitorous eclipse commander. She sighed, always assuming this man had enough common sense to not die in such a manner. Even after all the men he had watched her take down, he still had the balls to turn his back on her. Reaching down and picking up the Eclipse Commander's pistol, and cannifrex hand cannon, she decided that It was time to make an entrance. After all, whoever saved her deserved the show. Checking to make sure that both weapons were fully loaded, she waited until she heard the familiar sound of the door opening, announcing the arrival of her saviors into a room full of Eclipse mercenaries. She smiled with wicked delight as the auto unlock detected her and threw open the doors to her office.

She stepped out, raising the guns in front of her and pulled the trigger, the bullet ripping through the back of the head of the two Eclipse that guarded her door. _Oh I have slipped the surly bonds of earth._ Before they even hit the ground, Johanna swung her left pistol around and fired another shot that travelled through another's Eclipse's heart. _And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings. _Time seemed to be moving slow as the Eclipse, realizing that their threat was no longer simply in front of them, started to fire in her direction as well, all of which missed by hairs and slamming into her shields. _Sunwards I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth. _Johanna fired her right pistol, hit a man in his gut, causing him to bend over and catch a bullet in the skull from her, undoubtedly, accidental saviors. _Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things. _There were only a few left now, the fire from the squad in front effectively wiping out their entire force. An explosion from a grenade launcher sent two Eclipse into the air and Johanna fired two shots to ensure the demise of those two men. _You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung. _There was a crack from a sniper that ripped through the armor of one of the final three mercenary's, ripping through the Salarians shoulder and covering the ground in the alien's blood as he hit the floor. A bullet from Johanna's gun made sure that he didn't get up again. _High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there. _The last two men fell courtesy of two well-placed pistol shots from Johanna, ripping through the top of their helmets and tearing through their skulls. _I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung. _She sighed as she realized there was no more Eclipse for her to fight, effectively ending her chosen battle poem for this time. She quickly repeated the final lines in her head, not content with leaving the poem there.

"Valkyrie?" Said a voice from behind her as she brought herself back to the present moment, no doubt the leader of the squad who saved her. She smiled, not having heard that name for a very long time. It was the codename she had used when she still toyed with the idea of being a mercenary, running a small time mercenary band near the edges of the terminus. Small but very effective, never failing a single contract no matter the difficulty. She wondered what archaic contact needed her help, and what problem was so great they couldn't just use the men they sent to find her. She turned towards her saviors and instantly, both her and the man started. What came next varied between the two Johanna raised her pistols while her brother lowered them. "Johanna?" the John-look alike said with her brother's voice. She bit her lip in anger. Whoever decided to fuck with her in this way, reviving the image of her dead brother, would seriously get fucked up when she got her hands on them.

"Who the fuck are you?" She growled, her pistol hovering over the man's head. Her brother's head. Everything was the same. The same stupid haircut he had had since her joined the military, even after they allowed him to grow his hair however he liked. The same piercing azure eyes that bore into her with its happiness and conflict at the meeting of his sister. The same lopsided smile at meeting his sister for the first time in many years. The same build, the same jawline, the same everything. Even the N7 armor matched, though modified and colored non-alliance colors. White, with a blue pattern of double stripes, both being her brother's favorite colors. If this wasn't her brother, then it sure as hell was a very convincing double. The only thing that was different was the glowing scars underneath his skin.

"It's me Johanna." He confirmed, waving for his four companions to lower their guns from his sister. She recognized the symbols on two of their combat outfits as Cerberus and the other was an all too familiar turian who had shot at her. He didn't show any sign of recognition towards her at the moment, though it was probably because he was watching the fallen Eclipse mercs, in case any decided to change their mind. When the look of mistrust was still on Johanna's face, John thought for a moment before saying: "You remember when we were teens and took Mom's skycar out for a joyride?"

"Easy thing to guess. Most teenagers think about doing that at one time or another." She argued, though the grip on her gun slackened. John smiled again and brought up something else.

"Ok, remember when we were kids and Dad took us shooting for the first time? When I fired, the kick of the gun hit me in the mouth and broke three of my teeth?" John brought up in another effort to convince his sister he really was there.

"Medical records can tell wonders." Johanna deflected the information, though she was now growing that lopsided grin she and her brother shared. John saw the progress he was making and the look in his eyes told her that he thought of something very devious.

"Alright. I didn't want to do this. Remember Claudio Veradez? The cool kid in our class? Remember when I went through your drawers and found those papers with…." John began.

"Alright! I believe you!" Johanna interrupted her brother in an attempt to keep what happened a secret. Sure, this was one thing that someone could learn through rumors and question the other party, but only her brother would resort to something so fast. That's when the reality of the situation finally hit her. Her brother, the man who had been spaced and thrown into the atmosphere of a planet was now standing in front of her, looking more healthy than when he was spaced. The man who the whole galaxy revered and feared was lost forever, was now standing in front of her, giving her that stupid lopsided grin. She took a couple of steps forward, unsure whether this was some sort of illusion or was reality. Only one way to tell for sure. She stepped forward, and with as much care and love she could summon, she sent the hardest punch she ever threw into the man's jaw. He didn't dodge it, taking it with only a slight stumble before recovering and acting like it never happened.

"Did you get that out?" He asked nonchalantly, acting as though nothing even happened.

"Yeah." She shrugged, knowing for sure that this was really her brother. She heard a man laughing behind them. "So, you here to take me in to the alliance? Go ahead, I'm pretty much ruined." She held out her hands to emphasize her point. This wasn't the whole truth. She would probably wait till they were about to arrive on Earth before she decided to escape from the ships brig and take the ship's shuttle to the nearest planet that was habitable. Then she would start a whole new criminal organization. Maybe she would go pirate this time.

"No. I'm here to recruit you." He told her. "Colonies in the terminus systems have been abducted. All human. Cerberus brought me back to life to investigate it and stop it." He told them. She narrowed her eyes at the mention of the illusive group but said nothing more on the subject. "I can fill you in more on the Normandy."

"Wasn't that ship eviscerated with you?" She wondered, stepping forward to follow the man out. John laughed and patted his sister on the back as he thought about it.

"Cerberus has a habit of bringing back the dead."

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**Let me know if I missed anything in my proof-reading or I went a little OOC with my characters. Will attempt to correct. Also, feel free to leave constructive criticism. I can handle it. **


	3. Chapter 3

_**Heyo people! Chapter 3 is an important milestone for me since this is when my story died last time. (CURSE YOU FLASHDRIVE!) But this chapter is purely interactions and my attempt to set up to a romantic scene. (Never wrote romance before so, close my eyes and hope!). Few things worthy of mentioning. 1. I initially left the Kelly dialogue out which is why it is so short, but I realized that it would be a recruitment without Kelly's insights. 2. I left the first Garrus dialogue as anyone who has ever played the game knows what it is. (If not, well watch a youtube video or something.) I think that's it so all that's left is my final thing. Read, Enjoy, Review.**_

John waited for his sister with impatience, standing where she had advised, a good thirty yards from apartment building. She claimed that she needed to get her armor and just some basic supplies but has spent over thirty minutes in there. His sister always liked taking her time getting dressed. Thankfully, he didn't need to wait much longer before a figure emerged from the apartment building, holding a large bag in one hand and a small button in the other. She walked up to him and before he could say anything, she clicked the button in her left hand. Without much warning, a wave of heat hit Shepard and his squadmates, just before the apartment building erupted into a massive inferno, forcing them to cover their eyes with their forearms to prevent the bright lights from hurting their eyes. His sister laughed at their reactions and said: "Sorry, didn't want to leave nothing for that bitch, Aria. Shall we?" John nodded and led the way back to the shuttle they had taken here.

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John stared at his sister, waiting for a reaction from the information he just filled her in with. He had told her everything from waking up in the Lazarus Research station to the point where he left Freedom's progress. After he was done, she just remained quiet, rubbing the bottom of her chin with an armored hand before opening her omni-tool and started typing away. The armor his sister had chosen to change into was an odd armor, especially for his sister who often preferred to stealth instead of braun, at least when he was dead. It was pitch black in color, with a gold trim and lining. It was a Kestrel Torso Sheath design, the rest of the suit a matching outfit, with a personally programmed Kewashii visor and a genuine N7 tag on the side of the visor. The visor was personally designed, the heads up display soaking in and logging all the information that it was presented with and then cross matching it with other information to make sure it was accurate. Her tactical cloak, a model that had yet to be released to the public market, let out the occasional blink of light near the sternum, letting her know that it was fully charged and ready for use. Her weapons were an M-92 Mantis, with a plethora of names carved into the hilt and a Vindicator rifle, both had been painted black with the gold trim. John couldn't help but note these was the same arsenal that Garrus happened to use.

"This information is solid. The video hasn't been doctored in any way nor has any of your information have any false claims." She finally said, closing the video of Freedom's progress. "What I want to know is why they want these humans? What's the goal? A species as advanced as the Collectors can't just simply decide to kidnap members of technologically inferior race without a good reason."

"We think the Reapers are involved. After the death of Sovereign, we theorize that the Reapers have a vested interest in humanity. That's why we have to stop them. I have to warn you, this is a suicide mission. The odds of coming back are minimal at best." He mentioned, his grin on his face as he already knew her answer. His sister laughed and turned towards her brother.

"What kind of Shepard would I be if I turned down a good suicide mission?" She said with a laugh. John smiled a little wider and stepped forward to hug his sister, his arms opened wide. She stepped back. "No hugs."

"Oh come on, I haven't seen you since you went AWOL." He complained, still in the position for a hug. She rolled her eyes but embraced her brother for the first time in several years. They hadn't done it since they joined the military, despite not truly hating one another. John always steered clear of her because his position would force him to arrest her and she did the same so he was never in that position. John suddenly squeezed tighter crushing his sister in a bear hug and causing her to push away with a laugh. This was definitely her brother, with his childish since of humor.

"So, I think I'll set up in the forward battery. I need something to keep my hands busy." Johanna mentioned stepping towards the exit. Her brother cleared his throat loudly to stop her from leaving.

"I apologize but Garrus Vakarian has already claimed that area as his own." EDI mentioned, her avatar popping up as she spoke, stealing John's warning from him. Johanna smirked and looked towards Shepard.

"An AI, John? Cerberus must be really desperate." She shrugged and looked towards her brother with an implying suggestion. "More than one way to keep my hands busy I suppose." She laughed as her brother's expression soured at that implication. Then, without easing his mind about her suggestion, she strolled away, laughing mockingly the whole time.

* * *

"Your sister is different than what I would expect." Yeoman Kelly Chambers mentioned as John approached. He crossed his arms and looked at her.

"How so?"

"Well, her psych profile described her as enigmatic, at best. But when I talked to her, she seemed very open and almost seemed to be flaunting her credentials. It's almost as if she trying to direct your attention away from something else. I'd keep an eye on your sister. Just in case." Kelly advised. "Anything else you need Commander?"

* * *

She watched the Turian tap away at the console as he routed power to different sources and adjusted the power usage without draining the effectiveness of the gun. She had run her omni-tool over the console to get a look at the improvements he had already made and found herself thoroughly impressed. The turian, despite not looking the part, had some degree of knowledge of weaponry, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy his calibrations. She watched as he rerouted the power to another node, testing its ability to handle the energy outputted by the guns. She enjoyed watching him working, his three fingers tapping away without hassle, his attention entirely focused on his work. She was almost disappointed he hadn't seen through her tactical cloak yet.

It was over thirty minutes later before she decided it was time to put down the cloak and announce her presence. Not before she had a little innocent fun though. Typing a quick frequency into her omni-tool, she slowly walked over towards the console and released it. The console sparked for a second before shutting down entirely, leaving the Turian there with a worried look on his face.

"That isn't good." He sighed as he assumed that he was the cause for this sudden power loss to the console. His gravelly voice was odd, though Johanna found it oddly mesmerizing as he let out some Turian curses that her translator couldn't quite pick up. She couldn't hold back the laugh very well, causing the Turian to look up towards her position with narrowed eyes. Realizing her cover had been blown, she deactivated her cloak and revealed herself to Archangel. She'd down her reading on the mission reports that the Cerberus XO was had written, learning about both about Mordin and Garrus's hardships. She felt for his squad, but knew that was a danger when you made powerful enemies. She was amazed that he pissed them off enough to get the three biggest players in Omega to try and hunt him down.

"Sorry, Garrus. Just some harmless fun." She laughed as she reversed what she did to the console, the machine sparking and returning back to laugh.

"What is that?" He asked, motioning towards the omni-tool.

"Oh, a simple frequency I designed. It messes with electronics, causing them to permanently shut down until I reverse it or I'm out of range. It doesn't work on mechs or omni-tools without some serious amplifications, so it's useless except for some minor pranks. Eclipse hate it when their equipment would suddenly short out." Johanna explained as she leaned against his console, her hands resting on his controls.

"Impressive. Could come in handy in the case of the attacking toasters." Garrus joked, leaning against the nearby railing. "So, your Shepard's twin?"

"Johanna Sally Shepard at your service. Didn't have the courtesy of introductions the last time we met. I think you tried to shoot me if I remember correctly." She reminded, remembering the first meeting between the two. Garrus nodded with the turian equivalent of a smile as he remembered when he first met the woman, thinking she was nothing more as a common thief. He wasn't too far off from the truth, her thievery paling in comparison what she was actually doing.

"To be fair, you did steal from your brother's funeral." He pointed out, one of his three finger pointed towards the holotags that were dangling around her neck. There was a moment of tense silence as they stared at each other, taking in each other appearances. She noticed that his face was now heavily scarred, and the faint glow of cybernetics beneath the skin showed it was a pretty serious wound. "As much I enjoy the company, I want to ask why you are in here."

"Oh, I just saw a hunky turian strolling about by himself and decided to visit him." She told him. She thought he would fidget uncomfortably at this flirting but he just stared at her as if he wasn't shocked. "That, and I thought I would lend a hand in tweaking with the guns. I know a thing or two about weapon tech. After all, I was one of the best black market tech dealers, and if you don't know what you're doing, you just look like a kid with a toy gun." She turned around and looked at the console as she heard him grunt with acknowledgement and began to type in various sequences.

"I know, I was the one that took a good chunk of your product off of Omega. Some of the most advanced tech I'd ever seen with a lot of hand made adjustments." He told her, still leaning against the railing as he watched her five fingered hands work.

"I know Archangel." She told him, resorting to his mercenary name. "The only person in the world who knows more than me is the Shadow Broker." A lie, not necessarily an exaggerated one. She did spend a summer on Illium working with an information broker after she had went AWOL, and she did pick up a lot of tactics that she needed for info. The easiest one to master was the hacking. People always trusted computers so easily. After learning information gathering skills, she realized the use of having information handy on everything and gathered everything she could. It was a fun way to shut up business partners by bringing up past affairs they had or shut down commanders by reminding them of all their losses.

"I attacked a few of your shipments, but I could never get you to retaliate like the other mercs." He told her, remembering the countless ships and cargo his team had destroyed. "Seeing the way you tore apart those eclipse mercs, I am almost sure that you would have given an actual fight."

"Patience is wider than one once envisioned, with ribbons of rivers and distant ranges and tasks undertaken and finished with modest relish by natives in their native dress. Who would have guessed it possible that waiting is sustainable— a place with its own harvests. Or that in time's fullness the diamonds of patience couldn't be distinguished from the genuine in brilliance or hardness." Johanna quoted as she stopped what she was doing to look at the sniper. "Kay Ryan wrote that. Basically, it's something that our dad instilled on us since birth. A calm mind wins battle while a clouded mind loses control. And to tell the truth, most of the shipments you attacked had already been bought. So I already had my money. Not a major loss on my part. Did piss off the buyers." She hit a button on the console as she finished talking and smiled as the lighting flickered for a second before rebooting.

"What'd you do?" Garrus wondered, walking up to the control. Not panicked or racing eyes, just calm, as he looked over the console. She grimaced as she realized that her practical prank with the lights didn't work so well. There was a minute of her wasted time. She would have to work much harder if she was going to get this one.

"I trimmed down the power usage of the gun by 1.39% without decreasing the damage these Thanix cannons can do." She told him going over to the console. "I was thinking about making up for the non-power usage and put some extra punch into the guns. Want to help? If you can keep up, that is." Garrus laughed at that and readily accepted the challenge.

* * *

John stared at his computer screen a bit longer as he realized that he had no idea what to write. He'd promised he'd try to keep in contact when he could, so that she could know that he hadn't gone off and died again. Sighing with indecision, he looked at Ashley, the small little space hamster he had bought and named after the person he had to leave behind on Virmire. It was one of the few animals that he managed to keep alive longer than a few days, unlike his fish, who needed to be cleaned out of the tank on a weekly basis. It was a fighter, like the late soldier whose name she inherited. The hamster stopped running on its little wheel and turned to look at him when it felt his eyes, staring knowingly at him. He grimaced and began to type. A second later, he deleted the four words he had typed as he cursed himself for being so indecisive. If this continued, he would be up here all day.

It was odd. He never had this kind of trouble talking to someone before, especially not over the extranet. He bit the inside of his cheek and realized he would just have to go with his instinct. So, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before writing down the words that came to mind, only hitting the backspace to correct a mistyped word.

_Dear Tali,_

_ Just thought I try to keep in touch. It was weird to come back and realize what had happened to our group. So, I was thinking we could keep in touch via Extranet, provided you have anywhere you are. We just recently picked up Garrus and my sister. I'm not sure I recognize any of them anymore. My sister seems to be hiding something and Garrus lost a lot of good people that were close to him. I'm not sure how to handle it, I'm not really a touchy feely kind of guy. Any suggestions?_

It was short and formal, something sent by a friend but not the level he wanted. Still, knowing if he didn't send the message now, there was a large chance that it would never happen. He took a deep breath and hit the send message icon, hoping that she did in fact get the message. Of all the people he had hoped would rejoin him, she was the one he had hoped for the most. He was glad that Garrus was standing by him and more than happy he could finally be on the same ship as his sister without having to arrest her. Working with Cerberus did have some perks that didn't include a faster elevator system and personal captain's cabin.

He wanted to put more into the message, something that was special for a quarian. However, the only sites he could find about quarians were either hate sites that said they were nothing but suit rats while the others were crappy porn sites. He chuckled as he thought about how he was going to explain that to Miranda, who was no doubt monitoring his computer to report to the Illusive Man. They were a few that didn't fit into the two previous categories but he already knew everything they told him from his talks with his quarian engineer during their hunt for Saren. Maybe his sister knew something about it. She was well versed in interspecies negotiation no doubt, due to the fact that she ran a black market.

Standing up from his desk and putting Ashley back onto her shelf, John realized that he should check in with Joker about their eta to the Citadel, wanting to get the master thief then head to Purgatory as quickly as possible, knowing he would need another powerful biotic on his team. He couldn't do all the heavy lifting after all. He just hoped this Jack person didn't mind serving under someone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Heyo! Back with another early update y'all. You know the business, I do not own this anything in the Mass Effect universe excluding my own concoctions. Next, reason for changes. 1. I always felt the warden was putting too much hope on the fact that a naturally born super soldier who was known for his killing of his merc band to just skip into the cell, no complaints. So, that was tweaked slightly. 2. I also felt the Warden lacks a lot of tactical planning considering he leaves a ship full of soldiers that are known as the best at what they do untouched as he tried to kill their commander. Just saying. Now a few author's notes like why Jacob and Miranda are always left out of the ground team. I don't like them. Seriously, the moment I get other team members I immediately replace those two in the ground team. No offense to Jacob and Miranda lovers but screw them. Last note, I apologize if the Purgatory mission seems hashed together but I felt it was necessary since I want to make Jack a primary secondary character but I don't like rehashing things that everyone knows how they turn out so. Yeah. Any correction suggested and I will do my best to edit it. Read, Enjoy, Review.**

The Normandy banked, barely avoiding the beam from the reaper that would have sliced through their left wing, causing the ship to shake. Pulling a full U turn that would have turned any other ship apart, the frigate faced the reaper and fired its cannons, landing each and every shot, severely injuring the Reaper, disabling one of its legs. The mechanical monster refused to fall however, recovering from the attack quick enough to send another attack at the Normandy as she attempted to get out of range. The attack hit the hull, causing the ship to shake violently, but did not fell the mighty ship nor injure the crew inside. The Normandy spun around and prepared to end this battle once and for all, whether the Reaper should fall or she. The cannons warmed and primed, the barrels of the cannons were brightly lit, trained on the monster before them. This was the moment of glory. The moment of honor. The moment when all was on the line. Only the strongest would leave this battle and the Normandy was ready to make that she and all her crew were….

"What are you doing?" Johanna's voice rang out, causing both the Normandy and Sovereign to clatter to the desk. John turned his head right as she decloaked from behind him, staring at the scene before her.

"Uh, tactical planning." He lied, quickly replacing the models on their stand before his sister could conclude what he was doing. "What did you need?" He asked, knowing she had to break into his cabin for something. Or she wanted to break into his cabin, sometimes she was unpredictable.

"I wanted to talk. I just finished scrubbing your room for bugs. Found the few that you didn't." She told him sitting on his desk and setting the few listening devices she had found on the table. They were ripped apart with the wiring showing and the adhesive still stuck to the bottom of the device.

"Oh, so you've been in the room for a while?" John asked his face turning red. Johanna smiled a teasing smile as she looked down at him, his embarrassed face priceless. A video pulled up from her omni-tool that mapped his childish actions with full clarity.

"Yes. I saw you playing with your toys. But I'll spread the video about later. We have something more important to talk about." She told him, crossing her legs and looking him in the eye. "Why are you working for Cerberus?"

"I'm not working for Cerberus, I'm working with. There is a difference." He pointed out, resting in the chair at his desk as he looked at her. His blush finally settled down as he returned to his calm demeanor.

"For? With? Doesn't matter. You're not shooting them on sight is what is bugging me." She complained. "Remember they're responsible for Akuze and the death of that Admiral? The only reason I didn't sabotage this ship beyond repair was because you were on it. You at least owe me some explanation besides the slap assed one you just gave me." She told him looking into his eyes. She hadn't yelled, but she may as well have, the words stinging just the same. His sister hadn't yelled at him since Mindoir, saying that she shouldn't have to yell at her brother since it had done nothing during the raid on Mindoir. She yelled at her mother, father and their older brother and it had done nothing to save their lives. But soft words spoken with the amount of venom she had was often much worse than the times she had yelled.

John sighed and thought about it. It was true that he could have just forsaken Cerberus upon learning the truth of what was happening and gone straight back to the alliance with his intel. Or even the council. Or really anyone for that matter provided he could convince them that the Collectors were connected to the Reapers. And while they might have stonewalled him at first, it certainly would have been easier working with an organization who didn't hate someone because of their species. "I suppose its because they're the only ones that have believed me since this whole mess started. When I worked with the Council to hunt down Saren, they didn't believe about Sovereign being just the Reaper vanguard and then I hear them claiming that Reapers never existed even though they were almost killed by one. I believe they claimed Sovereign was an isolated threat." He stopped as he realized his sister was never a part of the original mission, so she would have no idea what he was talking about. He opened his mouth to give her a long explanation that would've spanned for hours had she not silenced him with a raised hands.

"Just because you didn't see me, doesn't mean I wasn't watching out for you brother. How else do you think the Alliance was getting their intelligence so fast when it took so long for them to figure out Cerberus was responsible for the Thresher Maw attacks? I also hacked most of your XOs report logs and found what happened. Pressly was a stickler for the details, may he rest in peace." She told him, climbing off of the desk and pacing into his bedroom. "You know, I think Cerberus might be suggesting something giving you a bed big enough for two people." John ignored his sister's attempt to make a joke in the face of a serious conversation.

"The Alliance is no better. Ken and Gabby told me that they were telling everyone I went loony. It just feels better working for someone that actually has some confidence in your word." Shepard excused.

"I understand. I don't like it but I understand."

"I suppose I should thank you for the intel then. How are you settling in on the Normandy? Garrus give you any trouble?" He asked standing up from the chair and joining her in standing beside his bed.

"Not much, mostly just a few banters between who could improve the guns the most before we accidently shorted them out. He's working on it right now. Says to tell you that its better than constantly repairing the Mako." She passed on the message from the Turian vigilante. John laughed and shook his head at the words, still not believing he had been that bad of a driver. He only drove them into lava on two occasions, and only enough to damage the front wheels. Never any real harm. Well, there was all that Colossi and Armature ramming too. That didn't make his team feel any better.

"Go easy on Garrus. He just lost a lot of people." Her brother almost asked as the subject was up. Johanna nodded, already knowing that she should avoid the subject. She knew he wasn't the kind of guy to abandon a team that depended on him to go skipping off with her brother without at least bringing one or two along for the ride. She didn't bring it up though, choosing instead to keep the Turian's mind focused on their increasingly drastic changes to the forwards batteries.

"So where's the rest of your crew?" Johanna wondered, noticing she hadn't found any of the other old crew about the frigate.

"Kaiden's on a mission for the Alliance with a well-classified file, Wrex is on Tuchanka, Tali…." He paused for a moment as he thought back with a sigh of defeat "…is on a mission for the fleet, and Liara's apparently working for the Shadow Broker."

"Shadow Broker? Seems unlikely. She has too much of a history and the Shadow Broker doesn't like to take his chance with his recruits." She mentioned. With that being said, they were left at a loss for what to talk about next, their forced small talk coming to an end.

"So, what now?" Johanna wondered when the silence between them lasted more than a few minutes. John sighed as he scratched the back of his head in thought. He wasn't sure in what aspect she meant.

"We save the galaxy."

* * *

"Alright, the Warden says that I'm only allowed to take two people on the station at one time. Kasumi and Johanna, you know what that means." He pointed to the two women. The two women smiled to each other and cloaked, completely hidden from view. "Zaeed and Garrus, you're with me. Miranda and Jacob, I want you here protecting the ship in case something happens. No one gets within five feet if it's not one of us." John ordered. Miranda and Jacob nodded and put their weapons away as they realized they would be staying aboard the Normandy. With that, they all exited the airlock, and the ground team continued, leaving behind the two Cerberus operatives by the airlock.

"So, what do you know about Purgatory?" John whispered to his sister, who he could feel breathing down his neck. She made a sound as though she was thinking.

"Not enough. All I know is it is run by some Blue Suns commander under the guise of a holy jailor. It never really interested me to the point where I broke into their files." She answered. "But if you want a bit of friendly advice, never trust what a Blue Suns commander tells you. Especially a turian without face paint." John nodded in agreement as they came up to the first two guards on the compound. After a brief altercation about weapons and a brief discussion with the warden they resumed their discussion. "I have heard rumors of slave rings here but you know how rumors are. There is a rumor that you a cyborg from an alien planet in dark space." John resisted the urge to laugh at the irony at that sentence, knowing he now passed from a cyborg. They walked in silence, until they noticed the man being tortured in the next cell. John almost didn't hear his sister sigh with irritation as John decided to get involved.

* * *

Johanna looked around the outprocessing with wary. They had entered the place just as commanded but the number of guards and technicians in the room immediately set off an alarm. It wasn't a three or four man squad normally assigned to keep a prisoner being released from seeking revenge, it was a full 12 man squad, each armed with a top of the line assault rifle. Sure, this could be in order to keep this Jack in line, from the stories she heard that would seem more likely than not, but these soldiers weren't there for security. The way they had been equipped was in preparation for a heavy battle, each of them clearly battle hardened men. Her brother continued onward but she could feel him tensing up and his hand was resting on his pistol. Johanna reached out and hit Kasumi from where she had guessed where the enigmatic thief was to stop her from continuing forward.

Kasumi said nothing about Johanna stopping, listening to the Shepard's instincts as they both waited. Her brother reached the door that they thought was holding the convict they had come for, only to find an empty cell. "I'm sorry Shepard. You're far more valuable to me as a prisoner than a customer. Please step into the cell and we'll avoid any unnecessary unpleasantness." Warden Kuril's voice sounded over the intercom as the men in the room formed a line in front of where Kasumi and Johanna stopped, aiming their weapons towards the three men in front of the cell. He turned towards both Garrus and Zaeed, nodding to them in the universal saying of _Let's kick some ass. _Johanna and Kasumi didn't need the signal before both of them had their weapons drawn and aimed at the back of the men in front of them.

"Go to hell. In fact, I send you there myself. " Shepard growled, grabbing his pistol at his side. The Blue Sun guards began to raise their weapons, the leader snarling for them to injure Shepard only but the rest were expendable. However, they all froze when their leader's head exploded from Johanna's bullet, spraying the batarian's blood over the floor. This caused a large enough pause that allowed the rest of the ground team to draw their weapons and let loose a torrent of bullets, ripping through the first three men in the line of fire. The ensuing battle should have been called a slaughter more than a battle, the gunfire from in front and behind ripping the squad of veterans apart in seconds. The moment the battle was over, Johanna and Kasumi decloaked and ran towards John.

"Well, this could have gone better." John muttered angrily as he replaced his pistol and raised his shotgun in place. "C'mon, we came here for Jack and I'm not leaving here until we have him."

* * *

Kuril watched the monitor in anger as his most trusted men were easily wiped out by Shepard. He had anticipated resistance, but he never considered that Shepard would have soldiers standing on the sideline for this. He hadn't picked the commander for a devious type, more of an upfront fighter who let his strength known. He looked at the docking bay cameras as the squad he sent to apprehend the Normandy was held off by the Cerberus operatives, their combination of biotic and tech powers being more than a match for his assault squad. Kuril hated to admit it but the men underneath Shepard's command were certainly worthy of their title. He growled to himself and snapped up the Revenant rifle nearby, realizing he would have to deal with this himself. Before he strode out, he touched his intercom and his voice filled the station. "I want two more squads at the dock. The rest of you, stop Shepard. Don't let him reach Jack!" With that, he charged out of this room.

* * *

"That's Jack?" Johanna asked as she watched the short female pulled off her collar. She had been expecting some battle hardened criminal, covered in scars and with a painful look in his eyes. What she didn't expect was a half-naked woman covered in tattoos with a crazed and angry look in her eyes. Her body pulsed with biotic energy as she ripped off the restraints and fell to the ground. Three YMIR mechs approached her, their weapons priming to shoot her. Johanna swore that if robots could feel panic, they would doing it as Jack looked up at them and not a hint of fear was seen when faced with the heavy mechs in front of her. Her hand glowed brightly with biotic energy and she charged forward, her fist smashing into the chest of the robot, releasing her biotic energy as she did. There was barely anything left when the dust cleared.

"I think she might be able to match even you John." Johanna laughed and charged down the ramp to catch the convict. The rest of the ground team followed.

"I think your family has a history of mental disorders Shepard." She heard Garrus mentioned from behind her as they sprinted to catch up. Her brother just laughed and followed, knowing it was merely the Shepard way.

* * *

Kuril growled in anger as his men were slowly overwhelmed by the population of prisoners, the petty criminals tearing apart the resistance that tried to prevent their escape. He had already lost several blocks of his prison due to the psychotic biotic that Shepard had release, and several of his men were now killed by the riot that happened as a result. Taking Shepard in was now out of the question. He would make the bastard pay for what he has done here. Then he would recapture Jack and make a fortune off of her sale, using the profit to rebuild his prison ten times better than what it had been before. He spun his weapon around and sent a torrent of shots into the chests of four approaching prisoners. Then pulling up his omni-tool, the warden looked for Shepard. He was in the final prison block before the docking bay, close behind the little dot that marked where Jack was. He growled to himself and primed his Revenant rifle, ready to end this.

* * *

Killing the Warden was easier said than done. The man pressed them with heavy machinegun fire from a vantage point while powerful shields deflected almost all their attacks. John zipped about the battlefield, reaping hell with his biotics while Zaeed and Garrus covered him, distracting the majority of the forces from Kasumi and Johanna who were busy sabotaging the shielding systems. The ones that did get through to them was almost immediately killed by Johanna, who had a remarkable aim that she was proud to flaunt. Still, the Warden was far more accurate with his Revenant than anyone she had met, tearing apart their shields if they stayed out in the open for too long. Zaeed caught one in the shoulder, but his armor prevented severe damage and Kasumi had her suit torn by a bullet that grazed her. Still, the moment the shield was down, all five of the ground team rained hell on the Warden, ripping through his shields and armor almost instantaneously, and killing the Warden.

Now, after they finally caught the convict, was the first chance they had to breathe since this whole fiasco started. As her brother eased the volatile woman into calmly boarding a ship with the symbol she hated, Johanna thought about the lack of information that she had on this woman. Maybe this was what it was like, travelling with her brother. Going into situations blind and without much planning off the battle field. She had heard multiple things about facilities that had conducted experiments to make biotics as powerful as this woman was, yet she hadn't heard of one that had succeeded to this extent. Given her history, she could guess that this was the same biotic who was responsible for many crimes throughout the galaxy, but this was based purely based on guesswork. For all she knew, this was just a random biotic that was insanely powerful but had no discriminate past.

"I want full access." Jack demanded, as the topic of Cerberus information came up. She hadn't been paying much attention to the conversation, only returning to it when she heard the word information.

"You have it." Shepard promised, his voice sincere and promising. The woman didn't seem convinced, her eyes still watching the group before her warily. Johanna laughed at this woman's suspicion and caught her attention before promising:

"If he doesn't, I'll hack the system for you."


	5. Chapter 5

**HEYO! I back y'all and with a steaming chapter ready to be served to the public. Hope you enjoy. Mostly character development and all that. I envision Johanna's and Kasumi's friendship as more as a rivalry while Jack and Johanna's more of an understanding. I used the first talk with Jack, basically it's like a copy and past of the first conversations, but the rest of their talks shall be more creative. Also, if John comes off as cocky, it was intentional. If not, well I tried. Also, partial reason for this chapter is to show emotional scars of the Shepards since you don't really see it until ME3 after all the deaths of friends and old squadmates. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

"So, tell me about yourself Jack." Johanna asked as she leaned against the wall near the biotic as she read the information given to her. She found herself interested in the biotic, finding very little information on the woman herself. Her crimes were easy to find but what motivated the woman, past and present remained to be seen.

"I'm still learning about myself. Thank Shepard for giving me access to your files." Jack replied, holding up the datapad that had a series of information on it. Johanna took a quick glance at the datapad, just catching the words Pragia and Subject Zero in the small letters. Keywords for her search later.

"Glad their helping." Johanna shrugged, knowing that the Illusive Organization was probably omitting anything useful from the data. He didn't seem like the type to give out secrets to someone just because they asked. Jack's expression soured at that, leaving Johanna to wonder if she had said something wrong in those three words.

"Don't be my buddy. You need me to kill for you. I need you guys for this info." She told her, setting the datapad down with a huff. Johanna shrugged, making a mental note at what she heard Kelly Chambers tell her brother about Jack. Deep emotional trouble seemed accurate. "Your friends in Cerberus are into some real nasty stuff. I'm going to find something I can use. I just know it."

"What if the answers aren't what you expect?" Johanna asked, biting back a retort that Cerberus was far from her friends. She didn't want to start a fight about it. Jack sighed and looked up at the Shepard before her.

"I'm not looking for answers. I'm looking for names, dates and places."

"So, what happens when you find what you're looking for?"

"I go hunting. Anyone who's screwed with me pays. Their associate's pay. Their friend's pay. The galaxy is going to be a whole lot emptier when I'm done." As Jack spoke, Johanna noticed a spark in her eyes. There was anger, hate, contempt. But Johanna couldn't help but notice the lack of bloddlust despite her obvious intent to go on a killing spree. Johanna just smiled and pulled a cigarette from her back pocket and grabbed one out, offering one to the biotic before her. "I don't want fucking cancer." Was her response, causing Johanna to shrug and put the pack away. It was only after the cigarette was lit and long puff of smoke entered the room, did the conversation continue.

"I doubt my brother will let you go on a galaxy wide killing spree." She mentioned, knowing that her brother would probably tell the psychopath before her the same thing. Johanna didn't care much. Cerberus deserved any hardships that came for it, they were responsible for a whole lot of innocent deaths.

* * *

_She was standing there, assault rifle on her shoulder and a cocky smile on her face as they explored the assigned area. The settlement was there still, buildings intact and without damage, clearly not being in battle. Her theory was the pioneer team just went exploring and got lost. They could find their own way back and that there was no point to send an entire squad down to the surface to lead them back home like a horse to water. However, she was ignored and her entire unit was sent down. "Hey, Connie, find anything in the main house?" She wondered as her friend exited the largest building in the small settlement. The Vanguard shook her head and stepped down. She sighed and wished she was back on the ship now, relaxing in her sleeper pod. That's when she noticed the ground shaking underneath her feet. An Earthquake? Nothing to worry about._

* * *

"I'm here for the mission. Anything I do after that, is my business." Jack replied, bringing her back into the present. Johanna felt her hand shaking as she took her cigarette out of her mouth. She hated it when that happened.

"So, what's your history with Cerberus?" She wondered, hoping her voice wasn't shaking as bad as she thought it was. Jack hesitated for a moment before she finally answered, standing up and walking towards the drive core as she talked.

"They raised me in a research facility. I escaped when I was a kid. Been on the run ever since." Johanna made a mental note to avoid the subject of Cerberus living standards in a research facility. The way Jack turned out and her amount of hate for the organization told her all she needed to know. "And they have been chasing me ever since. Every time I get free, they put a massive bounty on my head, constantly leaving me on the run from them. But soon, I'm going to chase them." The dark area near the drive core completely covered the woman in the shadow, making it all the more omnious as she drew her pistol and let out a small laugh as she thought about it. Johanna decided she should steer away from this subject, not liking the route this conversation was going. Besides, if killing Cerberus was mentioned one more time, she might slip into one of her episodes. Her kewashii visor clicked and told her that she had enough of Jack's voice in recording to fabricate a fake recording should she choose to but she ignored the alert. She doubted that having this woman's voice on hand would do her any good during anything.

"You know you don't have to live in this pit. My brother would be more than happy to get you a sleeper pod on deck three. I don't use mine." She suggested, blowing out smoke from her last draw of the cigarette. Jack scoffed loud enough for Johanna to here and collapsed her pistol to put it at her side.

"It's dark, quiet and hard to find. That spells safety to me." Jack told her. Johanna shrugged, having different views. When a place was dark, it only allowed an assassin to sneak around easier and kill with ease. A well-lit room was more her idea of safety, the very thought of an assassin climbing along the wall in full view was amusing to the woman. Johanna looked over, as Jack suddenly sprinted over and jumped onto the table on one side of her room, the action making it look as though she was coming in for an attack. Johanna didn't flinch, staring at the woman with cold intent that dared her to try. At least she didn't have a gun to her head. Jack however, fell to one knee on top of the table and looked at Johanna with crazed thought. "You know, Shepard, this ship is a powerhouse. You could go pirate, live like a queen. I could help."

"Will you be the first mate?" Johanna laughed, showing she wasn't taking the biotic seriously. It was certainly a funny thought, thinking of them as pirates. She hated the attention and Jack relished in it. It would definitely be an odd combination.

"I could lead the boarding parties. And handle the executions." She replied with a similar laugh, leaping off the table and turning to face her. Johanna smiled and took another long draw from her cigarette, the bittersweet flavor of nicotine trickling down her throat. She had considered being a pirate but after thinking about it aboard the Normandy, knew the hassle was too much. She didn't like trusting space battles to win her her prize. In a ground assault, you could control your own fate, your own victory or failure. If you died, it was because you fucked up or your opponent was just better than you. Space battles were different. Dozens of people entrusted their life to a single person's prowess. He makes a mistake, he takes down the entire crew with him, whether or not they deserved it. One small slip of the hand in a meteor field or dogfight, spelled doom for almost everyone.

"I should go." Johanna said, standing up from where she was leaning and putting out her cigarette on her leg armor. "And don't call me Shepard. It's Johanna. Joan if you like. Hell, call me the bitch underneath the stairs. But not Shepard."

* * *

After the rather colorful discussion with Jack and after passing her brother on his way to speak with the psychotic biotic, she found herself in lounge with the enigmatic thief they had picked up in the citadel. She had something to talk about with her. "So, Kasumi, you must be quite the hacker." Johanna commented slyly, walking over to lounge with the intent on pouring the two a drink.

"One of the best." She shrugged, staring out the window into the empty vastness of space. She could almost feel the smile hidden underneath the hood of the master thief. This was one person that Johanna was interested in the most. She knew absolutely nothing about this woman other than her name, and that was if it wasn't some pseudonym meant for throwing people off the trail. Johanna looked at the various alcohols that stocked the lounge. She wondered if the thief had added her own collection to the stock or if this was all the work of the organization they were working for. Either way, whoever did it had good tastes.

"So, I bet you can hack a regular old laptop, even if it had a hand written encryption that kept out even Cerberus attempts to hack it." Johanna hinted.

"With my eyes closed." She bragged, waving one of her hands with a flourish. She knew the thief was smiling now, the slight tilt of the head suggesting she was beaming ear to ear. She had her culprit.

"So, how long did it take?" Johanna wondered as they both now knew what was happening.

"About two minutes, fifty-three seconds. I was impressed. Normally it only takes two." Kasumi told her, waling over to the lounge, keeping her head down just enough that the only thing that Johanna could make out of her features was her chin, which had a purple tattoo. Her eyes were also oddly luminescent, in plain view despite being shrouded in darkness, suggesting implants. Johanna smiled at this and passed her a cup for alcohol, which the thief happily took. Johanna might have felt bad that her encryption was cracked in such little time but then she realized she was in fact talking to the world's best thief. Two minutes might very well be a compliment.

"Alright. But did you have to delete every file? I only had the one." Johanna wondered, quickly throwing her drink back and feeling the brandy stinging the back of her throat. Kasumi took hers more slowly, draining it bit by bit until she was finished, before she finally answered.

"You had information on me and I couldn't be too careful. You could have store other information in the other files. I'm not the best thief in the galaxy because I'm reckless." Kasumi excused herself. Johanna shook her head, silently thanking herself that she had backups of most of her files. She did however lose the file she had on the two Cerberus squadmates that Shepard picked up and the one she had on the woman before her.

"Fair enough. But was this necessary?" As she spoke, she pulled up her omni-tool and showed Kasumi the picture that had been left in the place of all her files. It was a picture of an old school smiley face, one hand pulling down one of its eyelids while it stuck its tongue out at her.

"Completely." Kasumi told her. Johanna just laughed and decided this thief would keep her on her toes should she ever try to get information on her. Perhaps she could rewrite her encryptions until Kasumi could no longer break it in a few minutes. A silent understanding passed between the two as they stared at each other, a stare that said that neither would back down.

* * *

John sighed as he sat up in his bed, covered in a cool sweat and his mind racing from the nightmare he just had. He dreamt of Mindoir again. It was so vivid and real even though the actual event seemed like the nightmare. His mom was yelling, telling him to take his sister and run, right before the fire engulfed her. His father's chest exploding as the Batarians shot him in the back. Alan's blood coating his clothing and hands. He was pulled out of this when he heard a slight squeak in his desk chair. "Come on out Johanna." He called ahead of him, knowing his sister was cloaked in the chair. The air shimmered before Johanna revealed herself, sitting in John's desk but not facing him.

"Had the same dream." She said, not looking at him. A slight trail of smoke was rising from her person, suggesting she had lit up a cigarette. John sighed and stood up, throwing on the first clothes that came into sight, which happened to be his old N7 jacket, a white t-shirt and pair of old jeans. "Our life really sucked as teens, don't your think?"

"It could always be worse." John reminded, stepping up to stand near his sister. She smiled and turned towards her brother.

"Maybe for you. You got out and you became a big time war hero." She shrugged. "I got out and had to watch again as everyone I came to care about was killed in front of me."

"I didn't so great. I died remember?" John joked, looking at his sister. Johanna thought of a retort but She didn't press the matter though, sighing and looking at the cigarette in her hands. She thought about telling him about what was on her mind, the hidden thing, but decided against it. This was hardly the time or place for such dismal news. She took another inhale of her cigarette before continuing. "I remember Alan always had those stories he told us. Remember the time he told us about when he drunk and ended up fighting that Krogan bartender." She laughed at the memory. John chuckled too.

"Or that time he claims that he and his squad took down an entire Batarian unit with just biotics." John laughed, thinking about how absurd the claim was now. He was one of the most powerful biotics of the human race, and even he had trouble doing that. This memory made them laugh a little harder.

"I remember mom would get so mad at him for telling us about all those late night women she found in the house. I remember when he had that one…..Cassandra I think her name was. The one with all those tattoos and piercing in her best concealed areas? Alan was half naked in the lawn while mom chased him with a broom. The neighbors had to call the cops just to get her off of him." Their laughter was now overwhelming, remembering all the good times they had at home.

"Oh, what about that time he hotwired Mom's skycar and completely totaled it." John stopped for a moment to laugh before continuing. "She locked him out of the house and made him sleep outside for a month. I thought she would never let him back in." Tears were in their eyes as they laughed for a good ten minutes before sore throats and lack of oxygen forced them to calm down. Then, it was the unbearably tense silence. Neither of them said something for a good five minutes, until Johanna had finished her second cigarette.

"How do you do it John?" She asked, a sad sigh escaping her lips as she talked.

"Do what?" He wondered.

"Put on a smile and act like nothing has happened in your life? Put everyone else at ease just by being there? This is the first time I've genuinely laughed in months." Johanna asked. She looked down at her hands, as if seeing something she could."Our brother died in our arms, our mother vaporized before our eyes, our dad gunned down by batarian slavers and we watched our entire town razed to the ground. All our childhood friends and enemies are all dead. I watched an entire unit of Marines slaughtered by Thresher Maws and you fought a batarian army almost by yourself. Yet you somehow still put on that goofy smile and joke and laugh like you've never had any hardships." Johanna asked as she put out the cigarette out on her knee armor. John thought about it for a long moment before he finally did answer.

"I focus on what I have in the present and forget what I've lost in the past." John told her, thinking about it. "I have friends, one of best friends is on this ship right now doing his constant calibrations on the ships guns. I still have my sister, who is still as big as a pain in the ass as she used to be. And I still have so many years ahead of me. What's the point of looking into a painful past when I have a beautiful present in front of me?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Heyo! Early update and whatnot. Read, Enjoy, Review. (A/N at bottom.)**

"I don't see the point in this." Kasumi commented as the crew gathered for the recent gossip she had spread. Commander Shepard and Jack in a biotic brawl. Who would win? Who would be wiped out? Most of the audience seemed to agree on the two ripping the hull in half rather than a winner. Mostly the ground team had assembled, the only exception being Miranda who had yet to overcome her Xenophobia adopted from Cerberus. It would be a lie to say the alien crew hadn't noticed her leaving the mess table when one of them sat down or her air of cold calmness whenever they talked to her about requisitioning some new equipment.

"Possibly stress relief. Turians adopt similar method when preparing for high stakes mission. Is important to let out aggression. Anger clouds mind. Prevents rational thought. Must find ways of coping or will endanger mission." Mordin suggested from where he stood. Zaeed walked past him but he waved the merc down. "Watching for analysis. Important to know team's fighting styles before entering mission with them. Can accurately plan out possible contingencies." Zaeed rolled his good eye before continuing on to the Krogan warrior, who offered his own opinion on this.

"Two warriors are battling for superiority. What more is there?" Grunt mentioned from where he was. He handed a credit chit to Zaeed. "Shepard. Two minutes." Zaeed tallied the points.

"Guddamn, Shepard is popular. No one else think the chick is going to wipe the floor with him?" Muttered the scarred mercenary as he walked away shaking his head. John shook his head as he saw this, wondering how Kasumi spread her gossip so fast. He had offered a sparing chance with Jack who had reluctantly taken it, but that was only thirty minutes ago. They had barely gone into the Cargo Hold when the ground team trickled in one by one, placing bets and watching their movements. Even a few of the Cerberus operatives had come down, like Kenneth and Gabby and Operative Hawthorne. Joker even placed his bet via intercom.

"Like a bunch of fucking moths to a flame." Jack muttered from where she was. Her outfit hadn't changed like Shepard had, still wearing her less than skimpy outfit for the sparing match. Shepard had opted for a plain white t-shirt and a ratty pair of old workout jeans. His hands were in his pockets and he waited patiently for Jack to admit she was ready. "Hey, Shepard, what the hell is the point in this stupid sparing match?"

"Because you are the strongest biotic on the ship." John told her with a shrug. "And I know I can beat you in less than a minute." Jack narrowed her eyes at the insult and she began to glow with biotic energy as her anger slowly took control. John stared at her with calmness, already anticipating this. "Whenever you're ready Jack. No holding back now." The rules had already been placed before the others had gathered. Biotics were imperative, they must be used when not cooling down. That being said, no long range biotics like warp or shockwave, it must remain close and personal. And last, nothing below the belt, since John valued what he had down there and he knew that would likely be targeted by the convict. Jack nodded, her anger glowing off of her as if it was her biotic energy, and then charged her fist with as much energy as she could muster.

"Don't blame me if you die!" She cried and then charged. Her boots slapped on the metal floor of the cargo hold as she charged forward, her fist flying through the air as she got closer to John. Then, with as much power as she could muster, she sent her punch at the man before her…and hit only air. John, with ease, had leapt to the side and was now bringing his fist up to hit her in the ribs. She jumped back just to avoid it, the tip of his knuckled just brushing her ribs as she took precautionary steps back. She brought up her leg, her biotics needing to recharge from her failed biotic punch making her rely on her bare skills. However, John was not above using his. He caught her leg against his side, taking the damage from the attack but pinning her leg, and charged a biotic punch in his right hand. Then he swung forward, his aim directly at her head.

It stopped just before it hit her, the biotic energy dissipating as his fist was touching the tip of his nose. "I once knocked a Krogan out with this punch. I think it's safe to say you've lost." He let her leg go and allowed her to catch her balance before continuing. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed several of the onlookers paying their money to a certain Turian sniper who'd happen to guess the appropriate time. "I took on Okeer's recruitment mission so that I could see how you fought outside of prison. You allow your anger to control you making you predictable. Anger is good if you want power but what's the point when you have no strategy behind that? If you remain calm, then you can control the battle. You also rely heavily on your biotics during your fighting but go for the strongest attacks first. You should conserve your energy and use only those powerful attacks when absolutely necessary. And focus more of your biotics on your barriers or you're just going to get killed in the final mission. Your fighting style worked when you were alone but you're part of a team now and others are relying on you. Think about it." Jack just huffed and growled, storming away. Johanna chuckled at her brother, knowing she should have anticipated the entire thing should have been a lesson.

"Alright. My turn." Johanna said, stepping forward onto the sparring floor. The betting party suddenly stopped as they realized what was happening. "Don't mind me wearing my armor, do you?" She asked, putting out her lit cigarette on the leg of her armor.

"Have to level the playing field somehow." John shrugged with a large grin. Johanna smirked at the banter he was attempting to start. She had never fought recreationally with someone besides her brothers before and most of the time, it was to get something that they refused to give her.

"Oh, you should probably grab your gun if that's your intent." Johanna said, getting into her fighting style, almost mirroring her brother. It was the same style that had been taught to them by their father, who said they should always be able to protect themselves. In an attempt to make them more eager to learn, who ever won their little sparing matches, got an extra piece of dessert after dinner. The tradition stayed, but the stakes always changed. A ride to the nearest store, leaving the house for a day, thirty bucks. Whatever came to mind.

"Biotics?"

"You can but I won't need them. Areas off limits?"

"You can't hit anything hard enough for it to matter. Loser KO?"

"Unless you don't think you can hit hard enough."

"What's the stakes?" John asked as he stretched his legs, knowing this would be a match more than a lesson. Johanna thought for a moment, tapping her chin in thought.

"If I win, you have to tell me who all your outgoing messages are to." His twin told him, causing him to flush slightly. The rumors that would take the crew now would not be quelled easily.

"Alright, then you have to stop trying to hack my emails if I win." John raised. He knew his sister would have hacked them if she really tried but this was her way of embarrassing him. Johanna nodded with agreement and got ready. The betting had already begun again, though John wondered if there really was nothing more to do on this ship besides watch him spar. His thoughts turned to his sister as she began to stretch in preparation for their spar. Could she really be hiding something from him? Sure they never really had the bond where if someone stepped on her foot, he would feel her pain but they never had kept any secrets from each other. It was always an unsaid agreement between them that they would never keep anything from one another, sharing even the most embarrassing and personal things, though not always by John's choice. "Whenever you're ready."

They both stopped what banter they started and waited for the first person to make a move. Ultimately, it was John. Jumping forward, he threw a right hook at her that she easily ducked under and tried to follow with an uppercut. John quickly jumped back, causing her to miss and readjusted his footing as she did the same. Johanna went first this time, jumping forward and bringing her fist towards his abdomen to cause damage. John sidestepped, then using the momentum of her own attack, sent a vicious punch into her sternum. The armor absorbed a majority of the shock from the punch, but the velocity of the punch sent her stumbling back and knocked some of the breath from her lungs. The attack also damaged himself, his knuckles throbbing as they registered the pain of hitting the armor. They both smiled, realizing that their twin had yet to lose a single step.

And so the battle continued, both getting equal amounts of attacks. Johanna charged forward, John unable to block in time before the full 125 lbs. of his sister slammed into him and pinned him against some nearby cargo crates and began a vicious assault on his lower body. John, knowing that staying here for too long would end in his loss, and quickly squirmed free of the assault. Johanna tried to continue the relentless attack but John was able to prevent further attacks by using her own punch to judo slam her into the floor. His sister reacted fast though, immediately spinning around and kicking her brother's legs out from underneath him and causing him to slam into the floor heavily. They both quickly leapt to their feet and retreated to a safe distance to recover. This would be a long match.

For a moment, it seemed like John had the upper hand when he tackled his sister to the floor and began a furious assault on his sister. However, she escaped by pressing her boots into his chest and launching him into the air and onto his back. By this time, they both had a slightly bloody nose and mouth, smiling at each other. Silence had overwhelmed the crowd as they realized these siblings were engaged in a rather ruthless fight for a friendly spar. Some found themselves hoping it ended before both got sent to the medical bay. Others, namely Zaeed and Grunt, wondered how much they'd get to see before someone broke it up. They began to circle each other, sizing their opponent. It wasn't long before they sprinted at each other.

They began to exchange blows, blocking a blow and then taking one in tandem, continuing on this warpath for almost a full three minutes before retreating to catch their breath. Both looked worse for wear. "Should someone step in?" Gabriella asked. Garrus laughed silently to himself and said aloud:

"I want to meet the person crazy enough to step between that."

* * *

"So, who is it?" Johanna wondered from where she lie on the bed. After a long and vicious battle, they ended up in a stalemate, mutually ending the battle much to the chagrin of the two Shepards and relief of the rest of the squad, knocking each other out with the same punch. Grunt seemed the one with the most amusement, wondering if all twins on earth shared the same attributes like these did, claiming both were equally worthy of the title of Battlemaster. John rubbed the sweat from where he was seated in the medical bay, drinking the small container of water that Chakwas ordered him to do. Apparently, they both had concussions, fractured ribs, bloody noses, cuts in their mouths, and cuts on their forehead. It may have been easily fixed with enough medigel but Chakwas was displeased to say the least. After a few threats of sedatives and some rather unsettling prodding by a medical probe, the doctor went off to get a drink from the lounge.

"One of my old crewmates from the original Normandy. Her name is Tali'Zorah."John told his sister. That was another rule in their sparring matches. Should the fight end in a draw or was interrupted before they could finish, they both technically lost and won. His sister lifted herself onto her forearms and gave her brother a teasing look.

"Johnathon Shepard. Hero of the Citadel. First Human Spectre. Lion of Elysium is interested in a quarian. I didn't peg you for a xenophile John. Figured you would want to avoid the galatic firestorm that would take place if it happened. I always thought you had a thing for humans, or even asari." She mentioned. John grimaced, unable to tell whether his sister was being serious or was simply teasing him. "I'm not one to judge though. I've been with everything in the galaxy." John felt suddenly felt himself grow uncomfortable.

"Ummmm.." Was his only reply to that subject. Johanna, sensing her brother's unease in the current subject, couldn't help herself.

"Turian, Asari, salarian. I even got a Krogan once. But never wrangled myself a quarian before, they're the hardest." Johanna continued.

"I don't want to hear this Johanna." He protested.

"Thought about it though. They're kind of the forbidden fruit. Tempting but just out of reach. I felt like I was Tantalus. First you got to romance them just right to get inside their suit and then they have to be willing to get a sick for a few hours of pleasure."

"Please stop talking."

"I got pretty close once, a male quarian that really needed some starship tech that wasn't technically legal and he was almost too desperate. Almost became one of those dealers but I didn't want a reputation preceding me…."She stopped talking as a wave of water hit her face. She laughed, rubbing the water out of her eyes and pushing her wet hair free. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw her brother glaring at her, an empty water bottle in his hand. She wondered how far he would let her get, she was almost running out of ideas to make him uncomfortable, and she wouldn't be surprised if he didn't believe the Krogan. She did think about her brother though.

He had one girlfriend that she had known about and even then, it had never gone beyond a kiss behind a barn. She guessed it was partly due to their father. He drilled it into their heads to not string someone along unless they were completely serious about taking it farther than just holding hands and sharing an awkward kiss. He had three rules he liked to implement towards anyone they were interested in. 1. You had to pick someone who would be your best friend if they weren't your significant other. 2. No lies were allowed. If they ever lied to you then they weren't worthy of claiming you as their lover. Johanna wondered what her brother would say if she had a lover. The word made a couple seem more like friend's with benefits more than an actual relationship. 3. Find the crazy that worked for you. This one was almost exclusively for John. His father liked to say all women were crazy, you just had to find the right kind of crazy. Johanna couldn't really argue with this one. She did threaten to castrate a man once for groping her in a club.

Johanna liked to brag that she had more experience than her brother, mostly to turn his face red, but even then she had barely any. The occasional boyfriend, but never someone that she could talk about for hours on end or even share a bed with. The farthest she got with someone was an asari on Illium right before the blue skinned bitch tried to shoot her. Still she could tell her brother was completely enamored with this quarian. Silently, she wished him luck in his endeavor.

* * *

_**A/N: **_**Not much to this chapter besides more character development. Reason for chapter was because Jack just kind of intergrates into the team without much difficulty. It makes a point to tell you that she is used to being on her own and not trusting anyone besides herself but she somehow just slithers into the team without much difficulty. (I know, game is designed like that. Don't ruin my rant.) Also, more brother and sister interaction. Just know, Johanna is all talk. Also check out my new story, a separate thing but pretty much interconnected. It should up soon if not by the time this is posted.**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Heyo! Did someone order an update with a side of happiness! (If the food puns get out of hand just let me know. I'll probably ignore it but your entitled to your opinions.) Author's note at the bottom like last time. Read, Enjoy, Review. **_

"Goddamn it, cover me!" Johanna yelled as her biotic barriers shattered once again from the concentrated fire from the collectors. She didn't stop the repairs to the gun turrets as she yelled; knowing that stopping even once meant that she would have to begin all over again. She had to connect two more remaining wires so that the cannons get their power but every time she touched them they sent an unhealthy shock through her hand. She was aware of a figure stepping in front of her, protecting her from the bullets. She resisted the urge to yell at him not to do something as stupid as that but was grateful for the protection. She'd make him pay for this later, when they weren't in the middle of a warzone. She heard Grunt's maniacally laughing as the sound of a Collector's remains slammed into the floor repeatedly, probably courtesy of the Krogan, then Zaeed mutter something about how crazy all this shit was before firing his rocket launcher. _A few more seconds. _

Her brother leapt onto the console control near her, his shotgun ripping through the chest of a collector that had gotten behind Garrus. Garrus returned the favor by firing a sniper over his shoulder and taking the head off another collector that had his weapon trained on her brother from afar. They nodded thanks to each other and continued on their killing spree. Taking down collectors left and right. Shotgun and sniper working in tandem to cause devastating blows to the Collector forces. It was surely a glorious sight and it was shame that Johanna would have to miss it. They almost finished the fight by the time that Johanna had fixed the Guardian cannons and handed the reins over to EDI to continue her job. "I almost missed the party!" She complained, taking down the final collector with a well-placed shot with her mantis that sent a round through the Collector's head.

"Nice shot." Garrus commented, seeing how far off the Collector had been. "That almost would have been a difficult one for me, give or take a 100 yards."

"Well, one day we'll have to have ourselves and little contest to see who's better then." Johanna challenged, staring down the Turian with a challenge in her eyes. Garrus's mandibles flared with amusement and he looked ready to accept that challenge. A time and place were about to be named when her brother cleared his throat to catch both of their attentions and draw them back to the battlefield.

"If you two don't mind, colony to save, collectors to kill." He pointed out, motioning towards the slew of Collectors that were flying towards them on their insect like wings. John glowed with biotic energy and sent a fierce warp at them, hitting one and sending it hurtling to the floor below. He waved his arms to make his point as the body slammed into the ground with a sickening crunch before the Commander zipped off with a biotic charge.

"First to a hundred wins?" Garrus challenged, popping a fresh thermal clip into his sniper.

"Only a hundred? You think too small Garrus." She laughed in acceptance. The two snipers sounded off a second later as the two began their fierce contest of arms.

* * *

"We're done here Joker. I've had enough of this planet." Shepard said and stormed away from where he was standing. She had an urge to raise her sniper and take the man down from where she was, the shot would have been easy and clean. It would be painless, not that Alenko deserved such a mercy. The only person allowed to cause her brother this kind of grief was her, and she wasn't too fond of sharing. Shaking the homicidal thoughts from her head, she turned and sprinted to catch up with her brother. Garrus hesitated at her sudden charge but followed her, the rest of the squadmates shrugging and following them.

"You ok, John?" She asked as she caught up. Garrus caught up to her and took John's other side. He had tried to defend Shepard in their confrontation, but his insight fell on deaf ears. Alenko heard what he wanted to here. Cerberus and Shepard were working together. John sighed but kept walking. She was about to speak again when Mordin popped out of nowhere, stepping in front of his commander and halting his exit.

"Shepard, need to ask. Want to collect Collector tissue, understand biology better. Understanding enemy key to surviving. Need help though. Salarians not built for heavy lifting. Collector tissue unusually dense resulting in increased weight. Need permission as well, of course. Your ship, your rules." Mordin mentioned, motioning to the collector bodies that had not been burned by the inferno rounds used by Jacob or Zaeed. Shepard nodded and turned back to his squad.

"Jacob, Grunt, Zaeed. Help the doctor transport some of these bodies back to the ship." John ordered the squad. He turned to the Turian and nodded towards him. "Garrus, you should probably help too. I'll take Johanna, we need to guide Joker into his landing. Tell Miranda, Kasumi and Jack to make sure the Collectors are dead before they bring them onto the ship. I don't want any nasty surprises in our cargo hold." It was the long way of saying he wanted to talk to his sister alone. Garrus nodded and walked back to where the three he had called followed Mordin as he pointed out the perfect specimens for research, waving for the women follow them as well. John then nodded his head for Johanna to follow. She bit her tongue and followed in silence, knowing he needed his time.

It was only when they were well out of earshot and the beacon had been set up for the Normandy to land, did he finally speak. "I don't have the luxury of not being okay, Johanna. I have to fight for the galaxy since the galaxy can't fight for itself." _Or doesn't want to. _She almost heard the words come out of his mouth but knew they wouldn't. He was too much of an optimist to say that the galaxy was too stupid to pick up a gun and fight the obvious threat, too focused on fighting itself. He sighed, looking up into the clear blue sky, with nostalgia. Johanna looked up too, and couldn't help but notice how it looked so similar to Mindoir. She heard another, more depressed sigh and looked over at her brother, noticing as years of stress became evident on his face. "I know what I said. Look to the present and forget the past. But the present is pretty shitty right now too."

"Then look to the future John. It had endless possibilities. I heard something, after our talk about Mindoir. The past may be bad and the present may be going by to quick, but tomorrow is always there promising better things." Johanna told him.

"A future of Reapers doesn't seem better." John dryly joked, collapsing his shotgun and putting it on his back. He lowered himself onto the yellow plains of Horizon and sat down, laying on his back.

"Then look past that. What about the future past the Reapers?" She suggested. She smiled in the irony of the situation where she was the one who had to give him hope. She had always been viewed as pessimistic by her family, saying that John inherited his father's joking and happy personality while she got her mother's calculating and rational personality. Her mother always said that the women of the family had to have the brains because the boys lacked them. Life seemed so simple back then, their only worry was getting caught by their parents after an unreasonable horrific prank. She remembered how they both had the reputation of troublemakers on Mindoir, a few adults even telling them that they would amount to nothing if they continued their actions. _Well, look at us now, we're saving the damn galaxy_.

"I miss Mindoir, Johanna. Almost more than anything I ever missed. I miss when we were kid and we would run around in the fields playing tag. I miss the long days of hard work when Dad needed help on the farm. I miss Mom scolding us when we pulled one of our pranks. Sometimes, I wish, when I'm sending out extranet messages, that I could just pull up Mom, Dad's or even Alan's email and just send them a message. Pouring it all out on the table and have someone that will actually listen." He confessed as he too was reminded of Mindoir through the skies of Horizon. Johanna sighed and sat down next to her brother, joining him in the sky gazing.

"I do write them. I have an old computer, one I don't ever show anyone and has the most advanced encryptions I could possible get my hands on. And you know what's on it?" Johanna laughed to herself slightly. "Messages to all the people I've lost over the years. I have messages to Mom, Dad, Alan. Even a few to my old unit, like Connie that young soldier that was determined to get into your pants during bootcamp. I write to them as often as I can, telling them everything. It's comforting in a way and it feels as though were actually talking. I wrote them after Akuze, right before I went AWOL. I imagined each of their responses. I think Dad would have said it's a shame that so many people were lost but by going AWOL I would ruin their sacrifice. Alan would just stare at me then say 'You do what you think is right little sis, but don't forget those who look towards you.' And Mom, mom would list the number of reasons why I shouldn't leave, starting with it being a crime. Connie would tell me that she didn't like it but would join me in a second, the stuff shirts could stuff it." She felt the tears biting at the edge of her eyes and scolded herself silently for getting emotional. She wasn't supposed to be the woman who cries every time she was presented with a bad memory. She pulled a cigarette out of one of the thermal clip pouches she had on her belt, which had been made into a hasty carrier for her cancer sticks and lit it, needing the relief that the nicotine packed stick would provide.

"Why did you go AWOL then? If you knew everyone would disapprove, why leave?" John wondered. Johanna smiled and pointed at the sky.

"That's something for another day John. Our rides here." John nodded and stood back onto his feet, offering a hand to his sister as she remained on the ground. She smiled, blowing the smoke from her cigarette up at him and took it, ready to get this touchy feely crap over with.

* * *

"Will have to do. Need better sample for better analysis though. Maybe limit amount of inferno rounds next time. Less fire." Mordin told Shepard as he carried the last collector body into the Medical Bay. Shepard laughed at this and turned towards Mordin.

"Don't think I didn't see those incinerates you threw out." He told the Professor with a genuine laugh. Mordin smiled his odd smile and went to fetch equipment for his experiments.

"Will need scalpel, bonesaw. Wait, collector tissue too dense for scalpel alone, will need something stronger. EDI, any precision laser aboard Normandy? No, wait, laser could damage tissue beyond repair. Need something else. Perhaps…." The Doctor said as he walked off. Shepard left before the Salarian had his question answered, walking out of the Medical Bay and into the crew decks. He was aware Chakwas was sitting at the mess hall table, looking around uncomfortably as the rest of the Cerberus crew ate around her. John imagined she would be uncomfortable whether it was Cerberus or the aliens she was familiar with, the doctor choosing to eat in her office on most days, almost married to her work. She never seemed to have much interaction with the crew besides Joker, who required constant attention and Shepard, who sought her out. Before he could come to the rescue however, Mordin burst from the Medical Bay and announced: "Chakwas. Will need assistance. Need to know best tool to use for dissecting dense tissued organics. Suggestions are welcome." Chakwas almost looked too relieved to be given an excuse to return to her medical bay and stood up from the table, politely excusing herself.

Shepard continued on his way, reaching the elevator without further incident. The Illusive had told him that he had sent some new dossiers his way and he knew that he should have looked at them by now. But the Professor still needed help loading his remaining specimens on the ship, so he had went down to the cargo bay without much thought to the Illusive Man's message. Thinking about all the Collectors that now crowded his cargo bay, he wondered in the mad scientist had left any for the Alliance at all. He hit the button to deck 1 and thought about what his sister had said.

It was always supposed to be his job to keep the morale up at his home and in his unit. No matter the odds, he always seemed to find the humor in his situation and his jokes always lightened the mood in otherwise tense situations. But he found it harder and harder to laugh as the mission went on. The constant threat of the Reapers hung on his shoulders every second of every day now. The only people who believed him and knew that action was need was an organization of xenophobic terrorists, the people who he once called friend pegging him for nothing more than a common traitor and the failure to save half a colony worth of humans now added to the list. He breathed with relief when the elevator finally opened, breaking him out of his thoughts. Maybe he should install some elevator music.

He entered his cabin and noticed a note on the glass to his aquarium. _Came by and saw they were hungry. So I fed them for you. - Kelly_. Shepard smiled and looked towards his fish as they were all alive and healthy now. He was glad for his Yeoman's help, not wanting to clean the corpses from his tank again but he did wonder why she was in his cabin. He looked towards Ashley as she stepped free of her little cardboard house and stared at him with her black beady eyes. "I don't suppose you have the answers, do you?" He asked. The hamster squeaked then retreated back into her house, sheltering herself from the outside world. "Yeah, I wish I could do that too." Shaking his head and approaching his desk, he opened his messages and decided her needed to look at these new dossiers before too long. The first one immediately caught his eye and it lit up with happiness. "EDI! Tell Joker to plot a course straight for Haestrom!" he announced to the little console where EDI's avatar popped up.

"Right away Shepard." She confirmed. Shepard couldn't hold back the smile on his face as he looked over the dossier. The first thing in the computerized file was **Name: Tali'Zorah vas Neema**

* * *

_**A/N: YAY! I can finally bring in Tali. The build up was killing me. Expect some changes to the mission of Haestrom, nothing major as it will affect the majority of the mission. Also, with the Chakwas introduction. Chakwas never really struck me as a social person when in Mass Effect 2. There's even that talk in Mass Effect 2 when you get drunk with her and she's says her only friends are Shepard and Joker. (Or I am misinterpreting it but don't mess with my artistic vision!) Also, the chapters will be getting noticeably longer as I go, or so I hope. I have been being stingy with my short chapters. **_


	8. Chapter 8

**Heyo! Since I won't have access to a computer over the weekend, I will post my new chapter today. Few things to read before. I know I promised Tali, and while she is technically in this chapter, its mostly about Priority Haestrom. (I know, I'm a horrible person.) I figured that this mission should be put in, so I added it last minute. Apologize if there are more mistakes than normal. Just a forward note, the two quarians that are saved don't play any signifigance. I just felt that the Quarian marines just really get the shit end of the stick. Each time you meet some, they are easily killed by everything. Don't lie. I mean on Haestrom, there is about ten dead geth attributed to the Quarians and that's not including the Geth Tali killed. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

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"Since when do you bounce up and down on your heels when your excited?" Johanna commented as her brother waited patiently for his selected ground team to arrive in the Cargo bay. Garrus was already there, smirking in a turian fashion as he watched his friend excitedly wait.

"Sorry, nervous habit I picked up from Tali. She did it all the time and it sort of rubbed off." John explained as he checked his pistol for the third time in five minutes. Johanna couldn't help but detect the amount of impatience her brother had at the moment, the revelation making her smile a bright smile. That was until she heard:

"Three minutes, twenty-three seconds." Kasumi whispered into her ear before decloaking behind her. Johanna sighed and shook her head, sure her latest encryption would at least bring her time up to four minutes.

"Damn Scuttlebutt, I may have to break out my decent encryptions." Johanna told her. Kasumi stopped at the use of this nickname, still not approving of it. She didn't say anything however, choosing instead to ignore the urge to banter with the woman and slinked off to be alone in the corner. "Alright, then all we need now is Jack and Scarface."

"I'm right fucking here." Jack growled from where she had exited the elevator and stormed off to one of the cargo crates. Johanna almost missed the withering glare that she sent towards her brother before she did so. Johanna laughed, wondering what her brother had done to upset the biotic this time. Not that it was very hard to do these days. She seemed more volatile with each visit they made and each secret they managed to get out of each other. Kelly had told her that it was the lack of a stable relationship in Jack's life, friend or otherwise, feeling that getting close to anyone would lead to an inevitable betrayal.

"Scarface is new." Laughed a grizzly voice from the elevator as the merc stepped off. Her brother practically leapt onto the shuttle at the arrival of Zaeed and beckoned for the rest of the team to follow. After the shuttle had been loaded up and taken off, they finally discussed strategy. A rough diagram of the buildings below sprouted from John's omni-tool, two red lights blinking as it loaded.

"EDI says scanners picked up some Geth activity groundside. So, I'll be taking Zaeed, Kasumi and Jack up to the front entrance in a frontal assault." He pointed to the first blinking dot, near the entrance to the facility. "Garrus, Johanna, we'll be dropping you off at this building here. You'll have a 360 view of the entire facility. I want you to give us and any surviving quarians sniper fire. There is an overhanging cover that will shield from the sun's rays but if it isn't enough, call for the shuttle immediately. I don't want any unnecessary risks. That being said, Our primary concern is Tali, but we have to save as many of these quarians as possible." Johanna nodded and expanded her Mantis rifle, ready to fight some geth already. She never fought Geth before, in large groups like this. Maybe the occasional straggler when a buyer wanted some geth technology but never large groups like her brother fought. Garrus told her some stories about the battle on the citadel, mostly involving the overwhelming amount of geth John and the rest of the team fought. He did mention how hard of a decision it was for John to sacrifice alliance lives to save the council, even though he had recommended against it. Sometimes, she wondered what went on in her brother's head.

"Why not take a full squad if there are so many geth?" Kasumi wondered from where she was. "And why am I going up in a frontal assault? I'm a lover not a fighter, Shep."

"Haestrom's sun is giving off enough radiation to fry our shields within seconds. A small team can move easier through the shade and get through the gaps in the Geth assault easier." He told her. He went back to tactical planning. "Johanna and Garrus, I want you to meet up with us when we reach the main building. You'll lose your visibility the moment we move on."

* * *

The building did have an amazing view but much of the facility was covered from above, likely to protect against the hazardous sun. Still, Garrus and herself had a perfect shot at most of the geth in the area and once they were done setting up, they would begin to take them down. A staircase was behind them, offering a way of escape so they could meet up with the rest of team when they were done. "So, Garrus, you never did mention what compelled you to rejoin my brother." Johanna mentioned, leaning down onto one knee and propping the barrel of her gun to aim towards the Geth unit engaging the Quarian marines. The quarians were holding their own but the Geth had them outnumbered and outgunned, threatening to overwhelm to defense point. Garrus sat beside, in a similar position, though his sniper was focused on the geth near Shepard. Garrus took a shot that took the head clean off of a geth before he answered.

"Got tired of doing stuff that never really made an impact. Thought I was doing something good on Omega but I got ten good men killed. Your brother may have lost some people but at least he always got the job done. The moment I was gone, Omega went back to the collection of scum it always was." Garrus told her, moving his sniper to his next target, a geth hunter just out of range of Shepard's biotic charge. Johanna nodded in understanding before zeroing her sight on a Geth sneaking up on a couple of Quarian marines. It was part of a larger group and the Quarians were sure to be killed if she didn't interfere. She imagined the lecture her brother would give her about the value of all life if she didn't take the chance to save them before putting a bullet into back of the leading Geth. The geth body hitting the floor gave the two Quarians enough of a warning, allowing them to spin around and tear apart the Geth with combined fire. One, a Quarian in a green envirosuit looked around, for their unknown savior for a few seconds before returning to provide covering fire for the Quarians below.

"So, you never told me about you team." Johanna mentioned, taking aim for another Geth, a destroyer targeting the group of Quarians guarding a door. Garrus sighed and fired another shot, undoubtedly ending the life of another synthetic.

"I'm amazed you didn't hack that." He joked dryly. Johanna fired her shot before turning to look at the Turian with understanding eyes.

"Somethings are better said than read."

* * *

"Hold you fire! Friendlies!" The Quarian marine shouted, moving his ally's gun away from the group of humans that approached them. John was aware of the amount of green on the man's envirosuit, everything except the wire and a couple of straps adopting the color. He'd never seen a quarian with such a strange fashion sense. The other quarian was a female, with a black envirosuit, with an off-hand ammo pack on her left arm and a self-modified anti-synthetic rifle. "Tune you communicator to Channel 617 Theta." The quarian immediately told them before anything else was said. He waited until the humans in front of him all patched to the quarian channel. They were immediately greeted by a Quarian captain calling orders to his team. "Thanks for the help, back there. I assume the snipers are a part of your team?"

"Yes, their part of my crew." Shepard answered. "Give me a sitrap." The quarians nodded and returned to their posts, firing their weapons into the group of geth.

"We got Geth coming from everywhere. They've dropped almost three full platoons in this area alone. We're doing our best to hold the area but they're hitting us with everything they got." There was a crack in the distance and John watched as a geth's head exploded, covering the cover it was behind in white. "We were on a scouting mission so we were spared the main assault. But that means we're cut off from the rest of the group."

"We've been trying to get back to our squad, but the moment we make a move to get down…well, let's just say we were a much larger team before this. You should talk to Reeger. We have to keep suppression on these Geth." The female quarian said. Shepard nodded and clicked his radio, with the intention of contacting the person in charge. As he did so, he waved for his team to help the Quarians provide their covering fire.

"Hello? This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy. Is this Kal'Reegar? Is there anything we could do to help?" Shepard spoke into his radio.

"How did you get onto our radio channel?" Reegar questioned. "Ah, nevermind. Listen, we were on a stealth mission. High risk. We found what were after but the Geth found us. They've got us pinned down. Can't get to our ship, can't transmit data past the Solar radiation." Reegar grunted in the radio as the sound of a bullet colliding with rock sounded over the radio. A few shots sounded off on the radio, no doubt the quarian captain returning fire.

"How are you holding up? We can be there in a few minute. I got some of your men with me too. Said they were on a scouting mission." Shepard relayed over the radio. He was aware of the cracks of snipers now sounding off almost simultaneously.

"Good. Thought they got ambushed by the geth. Make sure to take it slow and careful. Direct sunlight fries your shield all to hell. I trust you to keep them alive Captain." Reegar told them. "We're bunkered down at base camp across the valley. I left Tali'Zorah at a secure shelter, then doubled back to hold the chokepoint. Getting Tali out is our top priority. If you can extract her, then we'll keep them off you." Shepard debated for a moment about asking whether Tali was safe or not before mentally reminding himself of the Quarians abilities. If anyone could fight an entire geth army and come out alive, it was her. He was more worried for the geth at this point.

"Alright Reegar. If I have your permission to take command of these two soldiers, we'll hit their back ranks while you hold position." John communed. The two quarians in front of him looked at each other with unease at being commanded by a human commander but didn't speak their protests.

"If you keep them alive, they're yours to comm…Wait! Watch your asses! We've got a dropship coming in!" As Reegar yelled his warning, a geth dropship wheeled around firing its payload at the defenseless Quarians beneath it. Only one managed to flee to the inside before the bombs struck, turning the other Quarians into mangled corpses.

"NOOO!" Shouted the green quarian in anger as the dust cleared. He tried to leap down to sprint to their aid but his companion caught him and prevented it. It was good that she had, because not a second later, a large stone that had been near the door, fell onto the bodies, crushing the bodies of the quarians and blocking their advance. Regardless, the male quarian continued to fight the female, trying to free himself to go to a fruitless rescue.

"Myr! They're gone." The female soothed, holding onto her ally with a vice grip. The male quarian stopped as if he came to that resolution as well, but did not turn to face her. "The time for mourning is later. We have to get to Tali'Zorah and secure the data." Shepard couldn't help but notice the slight accent in the quarians voice that was much like Tali's. Myr nodded and turned to John. His stance seemed to be confident but the slumping shoulders told Shepard he was still mourning the loss of his allies.

"Alright Captain Shepard. What do you propose?" His voice sounded hoarse and angry but his head seemed clear enough to move on.

"First, I need to know you names and your fighting style." John said, modding his ammo to use warp rounds. This was going to be a tough fight even with the Quarians help.

"I am Myr'Jorin vas Rayya. This is Tikkun'Karus vas Selani. We're both marines. Everyone but the science team is." The male answered with a nod. John nodded and pressed his receiver to connect with his two snipers.

"Change of plans. I need you two to head to basecamp. Secure what Quarians remain and wait for further orders. Be advised, I have two Quarians with me as well."

"Yes oh glorious commander." His sister's voice responded, causing the two Quarians in front of him to adopt questioning stances. He gave them a look that promised an explanation later and went on to discuss his battle plan.

* * *

By the time Johanna and Garrus made it to the basecamp, there was nothing left. It had been a slaughter by the look of it, the quarians and geth killing each other. Neither in the room were alive to tell the whole story. A regrettable but foreseeable event. Before they could mention this to each other, there was an explosion that rocked the building, near the main entrance. The two raised their weapons and readied themselves for whatever came through that door. They were relieved when a familiar white and blue figure walked in, guns held high. "Clear!" He called, and was consequently joined by the rest. She noted the two quarians behind him, sporting modded rifles.

"Fancy meeting you here." Johanna quipped before lowering her weapon.

"Keelah." Mentioned the female quarian as she looked around at her dead team. The male said nothing and picked up the dropped thermal clips for extra ammo. "I don't see Reegar. Maybe some...got away." She didn't sound too convinced.

"Myr and Tikkun." John told her before walking past and approaching the communicator. Almost as if on cue, an image popped up of Tali.

"Tali'Zorah to base camp, come in base camp." She said, not seeing the people in front of her. The smile that reached John's lips was unmistakable as he stepped forwards and pressed the communicator. Johanna scoffed at her brother's reaction and elbowed Garrus in the ribs before turning and looking around for stuff to use. As a result, she found a rather interesting journal entry that she managed to download onto her omni-tool before they had to move on. She couldn't help but notice her brother's look of happiness as he readied his weapon for the fight ahead.

* * *

When John lifted the security lockdown, what he did not expect to be greeted with was a geth Colossus, stopping in disbelief at how much these geth want to kill these quarians. Long enough for the Colossus to spin around and shoot a shot off at them. Instincts kicked in, all the members of the squad jumping away from the windows and onto the floor as the impact shook the stone building. Myr and Tikkun were up immediately, sprinting out the door to get a better position on the colossus. "Definitely like old times!" Garrus chided as they hurried and followed. Johanna laughed, wondering if she had the time to salvage the colossus before they left Haestrom. John collapsed his pistol, knowing that it would be like bringing a knife to a tank fight, and pulled out his Collector Particle Beam, a weapon that was still a mystery to the Cerberus techs. He was growing quite fond of it nonetheless, the weapon's fire capable of tearing through anything.

When outside, they were met with Kal'Reegar, the Quarian squad leader they had met up with earlier. Unfortunately, he was alone, confirming the worst fears of the two squadmates with him. "Get to cover!" he ordered, firing a missile from his launcher to give them enough suppressing fire to complete this order. John complied, jumping behind some cover while his teammates followed his suit. "Squad Leader Kal'Reegar, Migrant Fleet Marines. We spoke on the radio before that dropship arrived. Still have no idea why you're here but now isn't the time to be picky." A missile slammed into the wall at his back forcing the two leaders to shield their eyes from the dust. "Tali's inside over there, the geth killed the rest of my squad and they're trying to get to her. Best I've been able to do is to draw their attention."

"Are you sure Tali is alright?" John questioned, a worried look on his face.

"The observatory is reinforced, even the geth will need time to get through it. And it's hard to hack a door when someone's firing rockets at ya!" There was a joking tone in the last words that made John feel better. "The geth are near platoon strength, but the colossus is the worst part. It's got a repair protocol. Huddles up and fixes itself. I can't get a clear shot when it's down like that. I tried to get in closer but the bastards shot a hole clean through my suit.

"How bad is the suit damage?" John asked, peeking over the edge to look at the geth before a narrowly missed shot forced him back down.

"Combat seals clamped down to isolate contamination, and I'm swimming in antibiotics. The geth might get me, but I'm not going to die from an infection in the middle of the battle, that's just insulting." John nodded in acceptance before thinking about what next. He knew enough about killing Colossi and Armatures from his time hunting Saren to know the best way to kill something like it and the battlefield layout was simple but impossible to strategize for. The left provided excellent an excellent sniper perch but was in full glare of the sun. Downed shields would be a risky gamble in a battle field. The middle had more than enough cover but the colossus had a clear view of you the entire time, a single slip could mean life and death. The right was out of range for the colossus but the geth could easily get behind him and outflank him. This certainly wasn't the ideal battlefield for an offensive assault. "We need to get to Tali. I have one idea. I'm not moving so well, but I can still pull a trigger and I got a rocket launcher the sun hadn't fried yet. You move your team in close while I keep the Colossus busy, maybe even drop its shields. With luck, you'll be able to finish it off."

"That's guddamn suicide." Zaeed mentioned from where he huddled, before he let out a round that ripped apart a geth destroyer.

"He's right! You need to stay down. Don't throw your life away!" Shepard told him over the gunfire. Reegar shook his head, arming his rocket launcher for another attack.

"Wasn't asking for your permission. My job is to keep Tali safe. This is our best shot!" Reegar told him before he jumped up and began to aim his rocket launcher. Shepard jumped up and pushed Reegar out of the way and into the wall beside Johanna, who had been watching the argument with silence. She'd heard Tali's pleas to keep what remained of her squad behind but even she knew that Reegar spoke more sense than her brother was admitting. Reegar could die, but he was willing to and the distraction would keep the Colossus off of them long enough to reach the observatory.

"There's always a better way! Stand down! We don't have enough people on our side for you to take one for the team!" John yelled at the Quarian, pinning the man against the wall, away from the geth fire. The quarian looked as though he wanted to argue but didn't, staring silently at the human before him. "If you want to honor the losses of your squad, then I need to watch our back in case the geth bring reinforcements." John continued on a lighter note.

"All right Shepard, we'll do it your way. Hit them hard for me. Keelah Se'Lai." Reegar finally admitted, lowering his rocket launcher. Both knew that the geth assault was on its last legs, this being the final part but Reegar didn't want to admit weakness on his part. John had given him a way out and he had taken it. Before John could thank the quarian for his sense, he glanced over at the observatory and his heart sank.

"Will do!" He yelled, and then, without any warning, he sprinted out of cover and up the left flank. While he had been talking with Reegar the geth had been busy cracking the door and he had looked up soon enough to see two geth enter. Determined to not let anymore geth in, let alone the Colossus, he did the stupidest thing he could think of. He charged forward without any backup. Using his biotic charge to practically fly through the geth lines, he hit the squads with a massive biotic slam followed by a nova shockwave to deal with any large groups and finishing the rest off with his particle beam, ripping apart their squads without much notice. He was at the colossus in seconds, firing his particle beam. His implant was almost red hot but he ignored the burning pain and continued his assault on the colossus, weaving back and forth to avoid the shots, and using the Particle beam to slice through the lines.

"And they said I was crazy." Garrus mention as he stood up from his cover, all geth now focused on Shepard as he tore apart the Colossus. Johanna was impressed by her brother's sudden brutality, tearing apart the entire geth platoon with simply biotics. "Should we help?"

"I'm not fucking with him right now." Jack mentioned as the Colossus's shields fell and the particle beam began to slice through metal.

"Are all your human captains so….." Tikkun stopped as she realized she didn't even know the right words to describe Shepard at the moment. Johanna just laughed and put a sniper round into a geth her brother had forgotten in his surge. She liked it when her brother acted crazy.

"Sorry, only Shepards are that crazy."

* * *

**Tali will most definitely be in the next chapter. This isn't a lie at all. I swear upon something! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Heyo! I figured since you were all so patient over the weekend (and if not, oh well) I'd give you another chapter rather early. I might start lowering the time between posts too, I have an entire story sitting behind me and I'm not sure how long I can sit on it. Read, Enjoy, Review. And Catann, your review has been noted, and while this one does contain a lot of view point switches, I promise the rest of the story has a lot less. I can't promise anything about the large blocks of text though. That's just how I roll. **

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"Cerberus saw footage of you in action, Tali'Zorah. We're looking forward to having you on the team. Your engineering expertise will really benefit the mission." Jacob greeted Tali as he entered the conference room. Tali didn't respond at first, coldly pacing back and forth while giving Jacob a glare that he could feel despite the mask.

"I don't know who you are but Cerberus threatened the security of the Migrant Fleet. Don't make nice." She said. John was surprised by the amount of malice that she had beneath her voice, not pegging Tali as someone who could be so cold towards someone. He added another reason that Cerberus should stay in his shit list. Anyone capable of making Tali this mad was clearly not someone he should make nice with.

"That's why you're here Tali. I need people who aren't Cerberus—people I can trust. I fully expect to be betrayed at some point." John told her, leaning against the table. Tali seemed to ease up a little at this but her cold attitude remained. Jacob didn't seem too offended by this attitude, leaning on the table and giving her a friendly smile.

"I wasn't part of what happened to the Migrant Fleet, but I understand your distrust. I hope we'll get past that as we work together." Jacob assured her. He didn't hear the scoff that Tali let out as she walked towards John, focusing her attention on the Spectre in front of her.

"I assumed you were undercover, Shepard. Maybe even planning on blowing Cerberus up. If that's the case, I'll loan you a grenade. Otherwise, I'm here for you. " She looked at Jacob in what John could sense as a very hateful glare. "Not for them."

"If it helps, check out the Normandy while you're here. We've gotten a few upgrades." John nodded to her.

"I'll get Tali'Zorah the necessary security clearance to access our systems." Jacob spoke up, still trying to salvage what he could to make a decent first impression. The attempt was in vain.

"Please do. I can't be part of your team if I don't know how the ship works." Tali replied with as much venom in her voice as she could muster. Then she started walking out of the room, stopping beside John long enough to say: "Remember, Shepard, these people thought enslaving Thorian creepers and rachni was a good idea. I'll be in engineering." John nodded, showing he remembered the unfortunate death of the Admiral. Tali continued out the door, only to stop when Jacob mentioned said:

"Don't forget to introduce yourself to EDI, the ship's new artificial intelligence." Jacob realized almost immediately he had said something wrong. And it wasn't the fact that John put his head in his hands, it was the fact the Quarian engineer stopped dead in her tracks and an air of hate immediately flooded the room. Fortunately for the Cerberus Operative, Tali left the room soon after. "Something I said?" He wondered, looking towards the Commander for enlightenment the moment he was sure the Quarian was out of earshot. John just laughed at the cluelessness of the otherwise calm Jacob.

"Geth, Jacob, Geth." Was all John said before following the Quarian to Engineering, leaving Jacob in the room until he understood his tragic mistake.

* * *

"You, I wanted to talk to you." Jack greeted Johanna as she walked down the steps, jumping off her cot and approaching the Shepard. Johanna was bidding her time before she went and talked with Tali, still making a list about what to talk to the woman about. After all, it was her job to prevent her brother from making a stupid mistake when it came to a girlfriend, and she had to be thorough in this. But the talk will come eventually.

"You want to talk to me? Well, color me impressed. Look who's coming out of her proverbial shell." Johanna joked, crossing the room and leaning against the desk near her cot. Jack followed her, pacing back and forth once they had reached the area where they stopped. Johanna wondered what had gotten her so worked up about.

"Your brother. Your fucking brother. He's always down here, poking and prodding at my life like that fucking head shrink. I tried to give him what he wanted but he turned me down. What the hell is his game? Does he like just fucking with people's heads all the time?" She demanded to know, speaking much faster than normal. "You're his sister, you know what he wants."

"Jack, what are you talking about?" Johanna asked, pulling a cigarette out of her pocket and lighting it as the convict collected her scattered thoughts.

"Please, everyone wants something. You like to be a fucking broker or something and gather information on everything. I get why you come down here. But your brother is down her every fucking day. What do all men want? Sex. But your brother says he doesn't want it…." Jack told her, sitting back down on her cot. Johanna stood up, waving her hands to stop the convict from her ramble and pulling the cigarette out of her mouth as she did.

"Wait a minute, you tried to sleep with my brother?" She asked, a mocking grin coming to her face as she spoke. She could only imagine her brother's face at the idea of having intimate relations with the woman in front of him. Her brother wasn't interested in crazed convicts, or humans for that matter, so she wasn't surprised that her brother would turn down Jack. Even if he was interested, an accidental slip in biotics and he was ripped in half, or they both rip apart the Normandy. Jack just glared at her for her silent mock causing Johanna to suppress her grin for fear of getting into a fight. "My brother's just being friendly. Trust me when I say he's not interested in any human on this ship."

"Oh, bullshit. What, is he trying to get into that Cerberus bitch's clothing?" Jack growled. "Cheerleader bitch."

"Not that the suit leaves much to the imagination. Call me crazy, but do I detect a hint of jealousy in that voice?" Johanna laughed, unable to suppress it anymore. Jack did a very rare thing, she blushed, turning a slight pink that was almost hidden by the darkness of the cargo bay.

"I don't get jealous. I get pissed off. When I get pissed, I kill things." She denied, looking off to the side in a pitifully concealed attempt to hide her embarrassment. "That bitch would fucking act like a princess if that was true and I don't think I could restrain myself from killing her." Johanna almost burst out laughing at this, not taking Jack for someone who would try to cover up her jealousy so much. Or that the woman could have jealousy.

"I'm going to save you a lot of heartache now Jack. Shepard isn't interested in any of the _human_ women on this ship." She put as much emphasis on the word as she could while pointed into the air where the newest arrival was sure to stand. It took Jack a moment before she finally realized what she meant.

"No fucking way!" She exclaimed, standing up. "Princess Bucket Head? Your brother is a xenophile and not lusting after some scantily dressed asari whore? This is fucking….priceless." Jack was laughing on her bunk now, the expression seeming rather foreign on this woman. Her previous jealousy was gone, knowing she hadn't been upstaged by Miranda. Johanna laughed in her head at this, realizing that she was glad herself that her brother was not interested in the left-minded XO. She couldn't help but notice that the woman in front of her seemed relieved even upon realizing her brother was not interested in either of them.

"This stays strictly between me and you." She told the laughing woman, joining her joy with a smile. In any other circumstance, she wouldn't have shared something like that without consent from her brother, but no one wanted to deal with a jealous and confused Jack.

"This is the juiciest gossip on the ship! That's just fucking cruel!" Jack told her but her wide smile spoke in favor of Johanna's health. They were a long silence between the two before Johanna finally motioned towards Jack.

"So, Jack, what's with the tats? I've meaning to ask for weeks now." She wondered, loosening her gauntlet as she spoke. Jack sombered up and stood up, leaning against the wall near her bed. Jack looked at herself for a moment, as if remembering what story was behind every tattoo before answering.

"Some are for kills, you know, the good ones, some are for prisons I've been in, some are for things I've lost, that's not your business. And some are, why the fuck not." Jack told her.

"I got some of my own. Not nearly as many but a few." Johanna informed, pulling off her gauntlet and showing Jack the first tattoo in sight. It was of an alliance logo, with officer bars underneath the symbol. Wrapped around the symbol was a bright red rose, wrapping around the logo as if to protect it. "You ever here about Mindoir?"

"Yeah, some gang I ran with for a little talked about it once. Wanted to raze a town and used it as a metaphor. Didn't like the idea of it so I wiped them out and hitched a ride to the hanar world." Jack shrugged.

"Yeah, well, my family lived there. Let's just say that….well, my twin brother is the only family I have left. But I got this to remember my parents and my older brother. My father was a retired alliance officer, served in the First Contact War, medically retired when by a Turian that blew off three of his fingers. My mother's favorite flower was an rose, she would tell endless stories about them, always talking about their beauty and what they represent. The rank below that is my brother's rank before he..." Johanna explained, pausing for a moment as she remembered the painful memory. She shook her head and put her gauntlet back on as if it was no big deal. Jack smiled and looked at Johanna with a challenge in her eyes.

"We comparing ink right now? I think I got you beat." Before Johanna answered, she was aware that her omni-tool was beeping with an incoming message. She held up a finger to tell Jack to hold her train of thought and checked it. Her face immediately hardened upon reading the message, so much that even Jack noticed the change.

"I need to go. Talk later." Was her response and walked away without further words.

* * *

"Shepard! What can I do for you?" Tali greeted John as he walked up behind her. John wondered if she smiled underneath that mask whenever he came by.

"The New Normandy giving you any trouble?" John wondered, his heart jumping up and down. The smile on his face was almost branded itself on whenever he entered the same room as her. He wondered if she noticed. She told him Quarians were in tune with body language but how were they when it came to facial expressions? Even in his mind that seemed like a rude question and immediately he felt his face get hot despite not having voiced it aloud. He cleared his throat silently, hoping not to catch attention to his embarrassment. She gave a small chuckle.

"Please Shepard, I'm a Quarian. Give me a chunk of scrap metal, a circuit board and some element zero, and I'll have it making precision jumps." Tali told him. John nodded in understanding and motioned towards the two Cerberus engineers in a silent question. "I was worried about working with Cerberus Engineers, but they know what they're doing, and they've been very polite." She answered his unasked question. John didn't expect any less, Gabby seeming like a nice woman if not a stickler for the rules while Kenneth was brilliant but a little crude in his humor. They certainly didn't embrace the Cerberus ideal of human supremacy, in it more for the fight against the Collectors and the Reapers. They had seen Sovereign, so they knew the true stakes of this mission.

"I hate to give you such a strenous project after Haestrom, but I was wondering, do you have anything that could the Normandy an edge against the Collectors. Our last encounter with them didn't go over as so well if I remember right." He laughed slightly to lighten the mood as her body language suddenly slumped. Garrus had told him that Liara and Tali had taken his death the hardest, Liara inconsolable for the first week and Tali for much longer. "Dying wasn't so bad Tali. Honestly, it was like I fell asleep and woke up two years later." He lied in an attempt to make his mistake better. Truth was his death had hurt more than anything. First the collision that had severed his oxygen line had broken his back as well, each movement making a searing hot blast of pain shot through his body. He ran out of air within seconds of being spaced, suffocating him as his suit quickly lost all pressurization. And despite this, he still alive enough to feel the heat of his suit welding to his skin as he entered the atmosphere of Alchera. It certainly wasn't the quite peaceful death in his sleep like he had wanted. The few words he said didn't make her feel better but she focused her attention back on the matter at hand, focusing on tech to make it all better.

"With the right supplies, I could fortify our shields. The Collectors cut through the Normandy's barriers immediately last time. My upgrades might give us a better chance." As she spoke she typed on her omni-tool and pulled up some holographic schematics. "These are rapidly –oscillating kinetic obstructions based on the Cyclonic Barrier Technology designs. See these shields use a frequency that…" She went on, describing her upgrade in full detail, right down to the amount of power such an upgrade would require. John nodded along the whole time, giving the appearance that he understood every word that she had said even though he felt like a toddler learning Calculus. Tech was always his sister's specialization, his twin having a natural affinity for the machinery despite her saying otherwise. Still, he enjoyed watched her talk as she got excited about what she was talking about, with the amount of passion she had when speaking about the fleet or tech. "….of course, that amount of upgrades would take at least a week and large quantity of palladium."

"Speak no more, anything you need, you can have." John promised, nodding his head as if he didn't get distracted by the lovely accent in her voice. He wondered if every Quarian had the same accent, or it was determined by the area her family had been in. He was unaware that the two Cerberus engineers had stopped their work and were watching the Commander with mocking smiles.

* * *

"Johanna, I take it you need to tell me something?" John asked as he entered his personal cabin to be ambushed by his sister, who grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him in.

"You took your sweet time. I have something that will interest you." She told him, pulling up an omni-tool video. It was short, barely more than a second but it showed a batarian sitting in a chair at the familiar Afterlife club, cheering on the asari dancer on the table in front of him. The video went black after this, and was nothing but white noise.

"So, a perverted Batarian. I think that we've met a lot worse." John pointed out, not seeing what she had meant.

"No, John." His sister responded bluntly, her mouth not even twitching with a smile. "This is Greer, leader of a Batarian ring of pirates. Vicious bastards. They kill, rape, murder, raid and torture just about anything they can get their hands on. Took out a couple of my shipments a few months ago, ripped apart my favorite Lieutenant after six hours of torturing her. Bastard made my life miserable, trying to constantly raid my supply shipments and kill my men. Finally got him off my back by destroying his flagship. I thought I killed him in the process, but I guess the bastard escaped in a pod."

"Why are you showing me this?" John wondered, though he had a reasonable guess. Johanna sighed and sat down on his desk, looking at her omni-tool.

"I called in a favor and got a tracking device placed on his ship before he left Afterlife. Bastard is gathering another crew, getting ready to raid new settlements again. With human colonies suffering from the Collector attacks on the top of the list, he thinks they'll make easier targets." She told him, pulling up a galactic chart to plot the course that the man had been taking. John nodded, knowing that his path did coincide with a lot of the criminal hubs he did know of. "I owe the bastard for what he did to my lieutenant, and you need to keep humans safe. I say we hit this bastard together and take him down before he can get his pirate group large enough to do any serious damage. Think of it as two birds with one stone." John did agree with his sister, a threat this serious should be stopped before it could cause serious harm to the human race. But for some reason, he felt as though his sister was keeping something from him. There was no real evidence of the fact but for some reason, he just had this feeling.

"Where is he now?" John wondered, shrugging his shoulders.

"He's back in the Omega Nebula, probably trying to get Aria to loan him his start up fund. Anyone backed by her is almost guaranteed a good career. His ship is in the lower ship yards, getting fuel and loading with supplies. He's probably planning to act soon." Johanna told him, her glare getting hard and determined.

"Alright, I'll get the ground team ready for an assault." John said, standing up. Under normal circumstances, he would tell her that personal business would have to wait until after the full team was gathered but if what she claimed was true, then delaying for that long could prove fatal.

"No, John. Too many people. This is a job for me and you, alone. I wanted to avoid a large war with Aria's people. We can handle it, you tore apart enough geth to prove that." Johanna told him, shaking her head. He laughed sheepishly at the reminder, remembering how he hadn't even realized his squad hadn't followed him when he went on his vengeful rage until after all the Geth had been destroyed. "Thanks John, I appreciate it." With that, she walked out of the room, leaving Johnathon there. His face was wracked with a moment of mistrust before he shook his head and went over to his laptop. He made sure she was long gone before he stood back up and went over to the console where EDI's avatar popped up.

"EDI, I want you to give me everything on a Batarian named Greer." He told the AI. EDI popped up.

"This will take time Shepard. Greer is the name of over 13.3% of all Batarians in existence today. I will inform you when I have narrowed the search to your specifications."

"And if Johanna asks, this search doesn't exist."

* * *

_**A/N: Mistrust is in the air people! Explaination for things, I think so. I substituted the first Tali talk with what I did because it seemed more original that just hashing together the talk again. So, there's that. Also, Jack gets over the whole not having sex with her pretty casually despite her obvious confusion and anger towards it. Also, I kind of find the fact you can't give your Shepard any tattoos kind of depressing because what's a badass without at least one tattoo? And poor Jacob. Let's be honest about Tali's first few moments on the ship. She was a bitch towards Jacob, and this is coming from a die-hard Tali fan, and poor Jacob tries really hard to get a good first impression. I'm not saying the anger is unfounded, she had every right to hate Cerberus but don't deny the fact that she wasn't even trying to be friendly.**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Heyo! I got a nice helping of early update for you all. Figured I should post this and give ya'll something to do if your bored. Read, Enjoy, Review. (Quick question, is it wrong to be surprised that I made it this far in the story?)**

* * *

The human was Blue Suns merc, the equivalent of a Corporal in the corporation, best known for his work in a job where the only option was kill all or die and he delivered. Of course, when looking at this achievement, it paled in comparison of the two Shepard's achievements, even if one was hardly known to the public while the other was galaxy wide. That's why it was no surprise when Johanna easily slipped her arm around his neck and twisted it in the wrong direction, ending the career of the merc with ease. Slowly lowering the man to the ground and stashing him behind the crates he had been loading, she turned her tactical cloak back on and planned her next step. Over eight more Blue Suns were in the area, all different species and of different talents. Two turians sat near an operating crane that loaded the much larger cargo onto the ship of the man she was here to kill, while a Batarian centurion moved the crane. Two more humans sat near the airlock of the frigate in front of them, their attentions forward and alert for anything else that would step into view. The other four people walked around the hangar aimlessly, finding odd things that needed help or providing a general guard. Two were on top of a nearby catwalk above the ship while the other two were ground level, somewhat near Johanna.

The docking yard was large and spacious, though the copious amounts of heavy machinery made the walking space seem less than adequate. The docking bay itself was meant to fit three different frigate class ships the size of the Normandy, though the only one in the bay at the moment was the ship that had her interest. Greer had forced the other two docked ships to leave under the threat of destroying the ship. She looked over at the catwalk, which trailed above the Batarian frigate, looking up just in time to see her brother put one of the Blue Sun guards into a choke hold until he passed out. He hid the body from view behind a mechanical crane, positioning it so even if they did see him, it looked as though the man was sleeping. As he did that, she saw his hand hit his communicator and her radio cackled. "Blue Sun's? Why would a pirate hire Blue Sun's? This is more Aria's specialty." Her brother wondered suspiciously. She bit her lip and felt a twinge of guilt, contemplating whether or not telling the truth of the situation they were in. Her brother of all people deserved the truth. She shook her head, knowing her brother would want to do things differently and she didn't want the plan to change.

"Maybe the Blue Suns are running cheaper. Aria's a bitch when it comes to payments." Johanna mentioned. "Alright get the last guy on the catwalk. I'll get the crane people then we'll jump the last four. Johanna Out."

* * *

The man fought beneath his arm for only a minute before he went slack from lack of oxygen, his eyes rolling back in his head and rendering him unconscious. John then slowly lowered the Batarian onto the floor so his body would not make a noise and kicked the gun away from him in case he had woke up before he and Johanna finished their business. He contemplating kicking the man to make sure he was out for a long while but shook that thought from his mind. To say he was upset was an understatement to describe his current mood. His sister was lying to him. After having EDI run the Batarians pirate's name for anything, secretly from Johanna, and the AI found nothing on pirates with that name. There was a chance the AI was mistaken, but given the history of the AI's reliability, he doubted it. So he had EDI run an extensive search for this Greer and told her to contact him if she found anything. That's why when the AI alerted him to his search results, he almost too eagerly clicked his communicator.

"Shepard, I have found the identity of Greer." She greeted. John glanced over at his sister as pulled a combat knife from her boot as she approached the two men guarding the Batarian on the crane. John stepped into the shadows to avoid being seen with a glance.

"What'd you find?" John asked, whispering his answer.

"While I found no pirates with the name Greer, I did find logs of a colony raid with Greer as one of the aggressors. The records show he was apprehended shortly after he left but managed to escape prison after only a week. He retreated to the Terminus system after that and has been smuggling large Hallex shipments since." EDI informed him. John nodded, realizing while this didn't quite match Johanna's lie, it at least described a decent reason this man needed to be dealt with.

"What was the colony?" He wondered, watching as his sister drove the knife into the neck of one of the Blue Suns, then pulled it out and drove it into the eye of the other, in a span of a few seconds. The Batarian tilted his head as if he had heard the fight behind him but went back to working the crane, clearly passing off the skirmish behind him as nothing. Johanna pulled the knife free of the Blue Sun's head and approached the Batarian, twirling her knife with a sadistic look on her face.

"The colony was Mindoir." John froze as EDI gave her answer, a brief flash reminding him about his early childhood. He gritted his teeth focusing on the present as the body of the Batarian was slowly hidden beneath the controls. Was his sister really keeping so much from him? Why wouldn't she trust with this information, above all things? The reasons he could come up with didn't make him feel any better about it. "Thank you EDI." John thanked the AI and tried to focus on the mission before him. It didn't work at first. He found himself losing the trust he had for his sister, this now combined to what she had been hiding earlier. He took a deep breath and calmed himself, the mission was more important right now, his feelings could wait.

* * *

The four remaining Blue Sun were easy to wipe out past that. Johanna stuck the remaining Turian in the upper chin with the knife while her brother biotically threw the other patrol guard in the wall, breaking his neck with an audible sound. The noise had alerted the two at the airlock but before they could do anything about it, a biotic shockwave sent both flying through the air and slamming into the floor with a sickening crunch. Johanna whistled at this display of biotic power with impressment, almost forgetting that she had her own biotics.

"It's a shame that you didn't want to be a merc John, a biotic of your caliber would have been great for business." Johanna mentioned as she fell to one knee by the air lock controls and began to hack into the simple encryption.

"So, Johanna, this Greer, what else did he do besides pirating?" John asked with an intent in his voice. If Johanna hadn't been sure otherwise, she could have sworn she heard mistrust in his voice.

"Don't know much past that. He either kept his head down or did something not worth noting, like red sand sales or Hallex." Johanna told her brother, the door coming open as soon as she said her last word. As the airlock slowly opened, Johanna pulled her assault rifle from her back and programmed it to use cryo rounds. John pulled his heavy pistol out in silence and aimed it forward as the airlock opened all the way…..Revealing ten LOKI mechs standing guard. John and Johanna acted at the same time, John sending a round into the head of one while Johanna gunned down two others before diving to cover. The amount of bullets that slammed where they had been standing would have shredded through their shields and armor had they not been quick on their feet. "So much for stealth." Johanna laughed, before blindly firing over the crate she hiding.

"Hack one of the ones in the middle. When they turn to fight it, hit them from behind." John ordered, not even smiling at her words. She lost the humor she had and her face grew hard.

"Aim for their heads. It'll cause a power surge that will cause them to explode." Johanna told him. He bit back a response that he had fought these mechs several times before but held it back and let her work. It wasn't long before one of the mechs suddenly began to put bullets into the backs of the its allies, forcing the mechs to all turn and fire on their comrade. This gave Johanna and John enough time to jump from cover, biotics and pistol fire hitting the group of mechs and sending flying to the side. Johanna managed to score two headshots and the resulting explosions ensured that the mechs would not get up again. "Alright, let's hurry before the bastard gets away." Johanna called before sprinting up the airlock ramp. She stopped however, when she realized her brother had not moved. "Come on John, he's just a pirate. I'll even hold your hand."

"I want an honest answer, Johanna." John said, putting his pistol away and folding his hands behind his back. She felt her stomach flip as it was obvious her brother had seen through her deceit.

"What are you talking about John?" She asked, hoping that she could convince him that he was mistaken. Her brother held firm, staring at her with a large amount of distrust. She sighed, stepping away from the airlock. She pieced together what happened rather fast, realizing she hadn't accounted for her brother asking the AI on the ship for more information. "Fine, what do you want to know?"

"Greer. Who is he?" John asked.

"He was one of the Batarian Lieutenants who stormed Mindoir. The bastard personally killed three of our school friends with a knife." She looked at the floor and her fist clenched angrily as she remembered reading the reports. The Batarians had treated the raid like a game after it was over, tallying their confirmed kills for money. When she had found this after hacking their systems, she almost lost it.

"So, what? That justifies this manhunt?" John asked, stepping forward in a standoffish stance.

"What? Of course it does! This monster killed people we knew with a second thought! And you think I'm in the wrong because I want to correct that!?" Johanna shouted at her brother, striding over to where he was standing and getting in his face. In the back of her mind, she was slightly aware that she had just broken a long time oath.

"'An eye for an eye just leaves the world blind." John told her, not backing down. "I let go of what happened at Mindoir. You need to as well."

"Let go!? So I should forget that Batarians killed our mother, our father, our friends, our brother, everything we ever knew!? The whole galaxy doesn't worship me John, this is all I've had to look forward to since we joined the Alliance. This is everything I've worked for!"

"If you do this out of anger and hate then you are no better than them."

"How dare you!" It wasn't shouted but the amount of venom and anger behind the voice made it seem so. Her whispered response told John he had gone too far but her twin couldn't care at the moment. John was clearly done with the lies. "I am nothing like them! I don't kill innocent people!"

"You want me to trust you…. Tell me the truth!" John finally shouted, pushing his sister away. She stumbled for a moment before regaining her composure. Underneath her armor, she was sure that her fist was white by how hard it was clenched. "You're my sister and twin Johanna! If you can't trust me with everything, then I don't know why I'm helping you!" Johanna clenched her jaw and tried to reply but found nothing that justified her actions. She opened her mouth but still found nothing. "When we brought you aboard, Kelly mentioned that you were hiding something. What is it?" So that was what sprung this. She had hoped she had hid it well enough that no one noticed but the Yeoman had seen through her and told her brother. Sometimes, she really hated shrinks.

"John, I have….." She began but a bullet slammed into the wall near her head. They both spun to face where the bullet had come from to see six Blue Suns exit a nearby escape with a Batarian behind them. The batarian wore the common outfit of a Blue Suns Commander, except with a color scheme of red and white. The six Blue Suns that were with him each sported a mean looking Mantis rifle, far enough away that the sniper was handy. The Batarian himself was wielding a widow rifle, specially designed for non-geth users.

"THERE!" Greer called and let loose a shot that narrowly missed John. The two Shepards dove for cover in the opposite directions. Landing behind a rather large storage crate, Johanna got her sniper and primed it for cyro rounds. John was beside her, behind a few fragile crates, enough that would provide him cover for a few minutes before breaking.

"Can you shoot a sniper?" Johanna asked, tossing him her Mantis rifle. John caught it just in time to prevent it from slamming into the floor. He growled to himself as he realized their talk would have to wait until later.

"I'm a decent shot!" He called back.

"Alright, John, you wanted trust! Don't miss!" Then before, he could figure out what she had meant, she pulled her predator pistol from her waist and sprinted free of cover, drawing the sniper fire away from her brother. She dove behind some sturdy looking cargo as they diverted their full attention to her, allowing her brother to leap up and fire a shot that ripped through the helmet of one of the Turians. As blue blood blossomed behind the turian and the snipers began to turn their attention once more to the Male Shepard, giving Johanna the window to line up a shot and end the life of another Blue Sun merc. And so this continued, both Shepards taking turns being the bait as the other used their weapon to take down another sniper. The Blue Suns liked to pride themselves on having the best trained merc group in the Terminus, but sometimes, they had no more intelligence than the Blood Pack. It worked effortlessly, and before long, the last sniper was the Batarian, Greer.

His Widow was his saving grace, even a single shot threatening to rip through barriers, armors and skin in a fatal blow. John couldn't risk suffering a shot to draw his attention and Johanna had been grazed by one of his bullets, leaving her cheek cut and bloody but otherwise okay, if not too cautious. "We need a plan!" John spoke into the communicator. Johanna clenched her jaw and looked around for any ideas.

"I got one!" She called back. "Give me some covering fire!" She waited until she heard her brother fire off a couple of shots before she jumped to her feet and sprinted back to the crane where she had killed off three of the Blue Suns. A bullet slammed into the ground behind her, and she was vaguely aware of her brother shouting in her ear for an explanation. But the adrenaline pumping through her blood drown these out and she kept running until she was safely behind the control panel of the crane. She opened her omni-tool and quickly hacked into the main frame of the crane. Then using as much accuracy as she could, she swung the crane around and extended the arm, the crate that was already clutched in the grip of the hand of the crane. She just hoped it was heavy enough. Her brother kept Greer distracted enough that he did notice the large crate falling on top of him until the last moment, barely allowing him to jump out of the way. John took the chance and biotically charged the man, slamming into him and throwing into the wall at a bone breaking speed. Greer slid down the wall, but it was clear that the Batarian was still alive as he slid down the wall.

Johanna smiled at the outcome of the battle, jumping down from the crane and sprinting to where John trained his Eviscerator shotgun on the Batarian. Her sniper was on his back, safely beside his heavy weapon. At last, she would finally avenge her family and friends on Mindoir. _Alan, Mom, Dad. I'll send him on an express train to hell._ Greer was the last lieutenant from the raid on Mindoir and she would make him pay for his crime. She pulled her heavy pistol out as she got in range, training it on the Batarian's head. She would finally feel complete, her family could live in peace in the afterlife. She began to pull the trigger back, anticipating with cruel delight the image of a bright red blossom of blood and grey matter covering the wall behind the batarian. Her only regret would be that she couldn't make Greer suffer for every minute that she had suffered, settling merely for blowing his head off. That was of course before her brother stood in front of her shot, blocking Johanna's line of sight and preventing her from hitting the man he was holding at gun point. "Get out of the way John!"

"No. I won't let you become like them." John told her, kicking the Widow rifle away from the Batarian in the case he would wake up and turning towards his sister. She gripped her weapon tighter and growled to herself as she realized she would have to have this fight again.

"I am nothing like them!" Johanna protested. Her brother didn't budge, still blocking her shot.

"Johanna, they attacked Mindoir and Elysium because they wanted revenge. They attack humans because they are angry we were settling the Traverse system and they attacked out of hate. The very same thing that you are doing right now." John told her. "If you pull that trigger, it should be out of justice, not hatred. The best revenge anyone can have is by becoming the opposite of those who did you wrong." John stepped to the side, allowing her a full view of the Batarian, the man stirring as he began to wake up.

Johanna tried to pull the trigger, she really did. She wanted to make the man pay for all the deaths on his head, the deaths of those closest to her. It was one of the things she wanted most, wanting to punish the reason all her emails went unanswered. The reason she had no friends from her old life left. The reason her entire family was in the hangar with her. But her brother was right. She was no better than this man if she did this, no better than those slavers who hit their homeworld. She screamed in frustration and threw her gun across the room before turning around and walking away. Her brother followed shortly after, after sending a message to the nearest Alliance ship they had found and incapacitated a war criminal and to grab the Batarian's modified Widow rifle.

* * *

"Do you want to talk about it?" John asked as they waited for the shuttle to return to the Normandy. Johanna had been sitting across from him for the past three minutes in complete silence, staring at the wall behind her brother as if it held some secret to the universe. She sighed and rubbed her nose, turning her gaze to her brother.

"Not in particular." She told him, "But I know you'll make me eventually. Rather do it now than later." She was silent for a moment until she realized that John expected her to speak first. "You should have let me do it. It would have been easier."

"No it wouldn't. You would have to live with the fact that you stooped to the level of those you hated most to get what you wanted. You may not have regretted it right away, but you would have later." John told his sister with a shrug. Johanna sighed and sat up, rested her head on the cold metal behind her. She knew she would have. Somehow she felt better knowing she hadn't killed Greer, but she immediately felt an immense measure of guilt.

"John, if you could have Mindoir back, Mom, Dad, Alan, would you take it?" She asked.

"As much as it hurts me to say it, no. If Mindoir would have never been attacked, we never would have joined the Alliance, I never would have become a spectre, Saren would be running loose in the galaxy with an army of geth. I never would have met Tali…Or Garrus either for that matter. I won't let a bad past distract me from the good that has happened." Johanna nodded, realizing her brother had a much better life than her, he had more to live for. She smiled as she thought about Garrus, the ugly Turian had been nothing but a friend to her despite their first meeting. Kasumi offered her a friendship that involved tech and one that challenged her no matter the occasion. And Jack, even in her volatile and anti-social way, was someone that Johanna could consider a friend. Maybe, she wasn't as alone as she thought.

"John, I have Chronic Obstructive Pulminary Disease. My lungs are slowly deteriorating." Her brother's face immediately lit up with worry. "It's nothing serious yet. I have enough implants and treatments to extend my lifespan by over twenty years and to keep me from feeling any of the severe effects, I'm not gonna break down in a coughing fit in the middle of battle." Johanna sighed and looked down at her feet as she continued. "It just…..makes me feel weak you know?"

"So you hid it from everyone because you felt weak?"

"I don't want anyone looking at me like that poor sick girl. I'm a badass and I'll be damned if some lung damage will ruin that image. But…..I just don't want to….feel weak." Johanna stopped and rubbed her eyes to prevent the tears from her eyes. She didn't want to cry. Only drama queens cried. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see her brother staring at her.

"That's the thing about having family and friends. You're never need to feel weak as long as we're there." He told her, looking into her eyes.

"Alright John, I'll try to not keep as many secrets." She nodded in agreement, much to her brother's happiness. "I'll even tell you about all the lovers I take." He rolled his eyes and shook his head to show he wasn't taking her seriously.

"So, twenty years?" John asked, folding his hands and looking at her. She smiled and shrugged.

"Twenty-five if I stop smoking. You'd think after all the scientific advancements made we could cure this right?" Johanna told him. He looked at her in worry. "Don't worry about me John, I'll be fine. It's not the quantity that matters, but the way I spend it." Her brother didn't seem too reassured by the fact, his covered in worry and doubt. "Let's not get all touchy and feely until I'm about to die if that's okay. Then you can get as soppy as you want." John laughed, though it was somewhat forced. The rest of the shuttle ride was in silence, both thinking about the day's events.

* * *

**So, Johanna has a disease. I noticed that whenever someone is recruited into a team and they have a fatal disease, its always a few months before they die or a year. You never catch them at the beginning of their disease. Thus the introduction of Johanna's fatal disease. And with the Greer. I happened to notice that with the early life side missions rarely bring closure to much. You help a soldier with PTSD, you talk with an old gang member, and you help a fellow survivor. Not like the other side missions. Not to mention, you are never really brought closure with this particular backstory. Sure Tabitha says some of the Slavers were killed but we all know slavers can operate in more than one group at a time, but we are never told if the Batarians are brought to justice or not. So this is my answer. Also, it functions as a Johanna's loyalty mission. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Got your update here and now. Or something like that. This chapter is purely Johanna interacting with Jack and Kasumi. Read, Enjoy, Review.**

Johanna crossed her legs, looking over to the workstation where Garrus was usually working, his head bent low and his eyes furrowed in concentration. However, now, the turian was currently out with her brother on the citadel, hunting down the person who had killed his team. She remembered the look in the Turian eyes when he got the message. A look of hate, anger, and vengeance, a look that was scary on his face. Is that what she had looked like when her brother had prevented her from shooting Greer? If so, her brother was right to stop her and hopefully he did the same for her Turian. She wondered to herself why she didn't go along? Why wasn't she there to support the Turian in his own personal mission? She rolled her eyes and realized that it would seem hypocritical to go along on his mission for revenge and stop him. And her brother insisted she at least take a week to get her thoughts in order from their mission, assuring that it wasn't him treating her like she was weak. She should have never told him.

It had been a while since Johanna and her brother had their little outing, enough time to recruit a drell and asari while also dealing with the XOs daddy issues and blowing up Jack's childhood home. She wondered if everyone on this ship had childhood issues that they needed to deal with. Sighing, she went back to her omni-tool, focusing on ordering the modifications for Turian armor. If things were really going to get as serious as her brother was trying to tell her, then it was best to suit their teammates up with the best equipment that they could get. Garrus refused to part with his heavy armor despite its glaring wear and tear, so she was doing the friendly thing and modifying it. The excuse didn't even convince her. She knew that the turian was perfectly capable of buying his own equipment to his own standards, but Johanna felt the need to do it for him. She always felt odd when she was around him. Not the odd she felt when she had first met the race of Turian where she wasn't sure whether she should be afraid of them or not. This was different. She had to be like her brother and get attracted to an alien.

She wasn't some delusional person that would deny her feelings and claim that she couldn't something for anyone like people like to perceive her. Still, it was odd she would feel this way towards a Turian. She could see why people were attracted to an asari, they had something that every species could relate to. The scalp crests related to turians, the basic structure appealed to humans, they had extended lives like the Krogan, and Salarian said they shared the large array of skin tones with the Asari. Even she had been tempted by some asari but had kept her thoughts mostly to herself. But a Turian was a different matter altogether. They were scaly, three fingered, dextro-amino based, beady eyed bipedal race. They didn't relate to any of the other species much beyond the small similarity of the asari. Maybe the Shepard siblings shared more than a common DNA. After all, her brother fell for a woman that whose face he had never seen. But, while on the subject, the Turian also seemed like the most reasonable person on this ship to fall for.

The Drell, while his air of enigma and cold justice would intrigue any woman, it just seemed cruel to fall for someone who was doomed to die. Give someone something to live for even though they are doomed to die soon was something that even she thought was horrible. And Jacob, the Cerberus operative who was always holed up in the armory, was clearly not one for a committed relationship. Even the self-appointed XO of the Normandy agreed with her on this, the two rarely agreeing on anything. She'd no doubt any relationship started between the two would end later, though not on her choice. The idea of dating Mordin or Grunt just seemed ridiculous, and she would date Zaeed after she went blind.

And Garrus passed the checklist their dad had given them. He was certainly best friend material, bantering with her and challenging her in everything they did. And he hadn't lied to her yet. Everything she asked him, either personal or otherwise was masked with humor but never a lie. She remembered the look in his eyes as he talked about his team, the one that died while he was in charge. The one thing that he seemed to regret the most. As she thought about this, the door to the main battery opened and entered a woman that drug her from her own thoughts.

Jack stood there, looking around for someone, a black leather shirt covering most of what she exposed. She'd donned the outfit shortly after the mission on Pragia, without an real explanation to anyone who asked. "Looking for someone Jack?" Johanna asked from her position on top of the guns. Jack started and looked up, seeing the Shepard for the first time, squinting as though to tell whether or not it was actually her. She couldn't blame the former convict, it was the first time Johanna had changed into something casual since she had been on the Normandy. It was her old N7 sweatshirt, something she had not even considering wearing for a long time. Something about her brother always made her nostalgic for her Alliance days.

"Yeah. Where's your Turian boytoy? I'm gonna kick his ass." She told Johanna walking around and looking behind the main cannon as if Garrus was hiding behind it.

"Why are you hunting Garrus?"

"He said some shit about me being a loose cannon with an addiction to violence. I'm gonna teach him a lesson." She growled, realizing that Garrus was not in the room.

"So your solution is to prove him wrong with violence? Smart, he'll never see that coming." Johanna mocked playfully. Jack huffed with annoyance and looked away from her, leaning on the console. "So, what's up with you? You seem more irritable than late and that's saying something."

"I don't need to explain myself to you. Why the fuck do you still care? You should have enough information to satisfy you urge." Jack retorted.

"You can never fully know everything Jack. Things can change monumentaly in a few seconds. Besides, I would have to cry myself to sleep without your pleasurable company." Johanna pointed out.

"Shit man, I didn't think of it like that. I fucking hate it when stuff makes sense." Jack complained. She was silent for a moment. "Been thinking. We've seen a lot of shit together now. And you're always coming to talk to me. You attracted to me in some lesbian way because I don't need the complication." Johanna held back her smile.

"I don't buy it, Jack. You're trying too hard." Johanna played, making her tone seductive and suggestive as she could. Jack didn't look at her but Johanna could feel the air shift around her. "C'mon, I'll show you my N7 tattoo. It's in the lower wards, near the bottom."

"Screw you, you don't know me. I've had enough!" She growled. Johanna held back a laugh. This was anger, something Johanna would normally avoid with someone like Jack but this was not a hating anger. It was confused anger.

"Fine with me." She shrugged, this time letting her joking tone in her voice, taking over her suggestive one.

"Right. You're too needy. That's not my thing." Jack quickly tried to brush off.

"Right." Johanna exaggerated the word the best she could, dragging it out and putting emphasis on it. This finally got a reaction out of Jack. She spun towards the woman with her fists clenched in anger and her eyes glaring with confusion.

"Stop that. Stop playing with me. This should be easy. Why aren't you easy?" The tone of her voice made Johanna lose what amusement she had gained from the thing that happened. "I don't want to deal with this right now. Leave me alone, Johanna. Just…for a while." She started walked away but Johanna would not let the woman leave so easily. Pulling out her omni-tool, she quickly hacked the door and engaged the magnetic locks, keeping the convict sealed in. Jack turned towards Johanna in anger, threatening to send a biotic shockwave at her if she didn't leave soon.

"Alright, Jack. I'm not attracted to you in some "lesbian" way. Now talk to me."

"Why? I'm not interested in some dumbshit friendship or love affair, it never goes right." Jack growled at her, pacing back and forth in front of the door, her anxiety about the current conversation topic showing. Johanna nodded and jumped down from her little perch, landing next to the console before continuing.

"Why do you keep running Jack? What are you afraid of?" Johanna asked. Jack took a deep breath to calm herself, stopping her pacing and looking Johanna in her eyes. They held eye contact for a few moments, Jack silent as if dealing with some internal issue. Then, she looked down at the floor and finally spoke:

"Murtock. A guy. Used me like the rest—for sex, for biotics. It was fun. And he ruined everything." As she spoke, she walked past Johanna, retreating into the darkness provided in the area beside the guns for maintence. Johanna turned to where she had gone but didn't follow. "We tagged a weapons frigate with a batarian escort and got separated. He had a choice: Leave with the guns, or come back for me."

"I take it he left with the guns?" Johanna guessed, all of Jack's stories normally ending the same way. She trusted someone, thought they were decent, found out differently and killed them. It wasn't hard to guess where the story was heading. But Jack let loose a sad laugh from the darkness.

"No, that fucking idiot dumps the score and wades in the squints. I made it to the shuttle, but no way was he getting out." She told the Shepard twin, surprised her with this. However, Johanna could sense that this wasn't the end of the story.

"What happens next?"

"I fly for a day or so and then the shuttle kicks out this recording. He set it to play if he hadn't checked in. He figured it would mean he was dead. Talked about the future we were supposed to have. How he had planned to set us up a home. How he—How he loved me and he was sorry it wasn't going to happen." Johanna couldn't sense any hint of anger or hate in the voice. Just sadness. She almost thought all emotions were lost on Jack except for the former two.

"How many Batarians did you kill for that one?" Johanna wondered, assuming this would be the woman's response. She heard Jack take a deep breath from where she was, as she was trying to calm herself down.

"It wasn't their fault. It was his. You feel, you get sloppy. It's that damn simple. He found out, and you'll find out." Johanna could hear the woman fighting off the tears. It was easy enough to see now. Jack was suffering through survivor's guilt, and pretty badly. She remembered the first few weeks after Akuze, where she wanted to die along with her squad. Why should she have been the one to survive when there was all those people to choose. She would have gladly died if it meant saving another of her team. She left the Alliance over this, thinking that if she got assigned to another unit, they would just die off like they had last time. Shortly afterwords, the guilt turned to rage and she was consumed with revenge, directing most it at the Batarians responsible for Mindoir. It was there fault that she had joined the Alliance and was forced to watch her squad torn apart. Her brother had made her realize this. _Huh, the bastard was right about gathering my thoughts._

"If he had left you, you would have died." Johanna pointed out. Jack emerged from the darkness of the cannons, storming over to where Johanna and taking an aggressive stance towards Johanna.

"So what, you ever seen me flinch? Or run? Death's easy. Fucking on/off switch." She growled at Johanna before taking a more defensive stance. "But this, it just burrows in. Like those husks, you end up with nothing inside. I'm supposed to take that and say "Thanks, dead guy?" Jack huffed and turned away, obviously tired of Johanna's attempt to be her friend.

"How about a little effort there Jack? People get tired of the wall you put up. I might be your only friend before long." Johanna told her.

"It's there for you, too. Don't you get it? This will screw with the mission. You want out alive, you goddamn run." Jack told her. Johanna just chuckled at this and leaned back on one leg.

"Good thing the mission's suicide then, huh? Everything works out then." Johanna pointed out. Jack shook her head with confusion.

"Are you nuts?" She asked. Johanna laughed heartily at this. A psychotic biotic capable of ripping apart three YMIR mechs apart with her bare hands out of pure rage was questioning her sanity? The irony of the situation was delicious though expected. Insanity ran deep in the Shepard family.

"I've survived much harder things. Do your worst."

"Okay, what the fuck Johanna?"

"Look, I know you've made a great tower of shit to hide behind but you should know by now, nothing scares the Shepard family." Johanna told her with an amused expression. Jack seemed surprised by her words looking at her with attempted anger but the mixture of emotion that did show was hard to discern.

"You think I did this to myself?" It was more of a question than a demand. Johanna acted she thought about it for a single moment before nodding her head in agreement.

"Little by little."

"So why put up with it?" Jack asked, stepping back from Johanna.

"Small ship I guess." Johanna shrugged, stepping towards Jack. Jack sighed, her face scrunching up in confusion, then she walked up to Johanna.

"I….I need some time to think. Really, just leave me alone." Jack told the woman before walking past her towards the door. Realizing that Jack would need the time to think this time, she pressed the button on her omni-tool and opened the door to the crews quarters. Jack shook her head and muttered: "Goddammit." Just loud enough to hear before she stormed off. Sooner or later, this conversation would have to come again. Johanna decided that later would be a better option. The woman before her was not exactly the healthiest emotional mind ever and Johanna was sure that keeping her locked in this room any longer would end with her as a splatter against the nearby wall. Jack wasn't gone more than a minute before there was a sound of the Master thief decloaked behind her.

"Well, isn't she just turning into a ray of sunshine." Kasumi greeted, leaning on the nearby railing behind Johanna. "Three minutes, thirty-four seconds by the way."

"I may have to actually start trying soon." Johanna replied in turn then made a move to get back on the main cannon stopping only for a second before turning towards. "Tell me about Keiji." She asked, leaning against the gun's console and staring at Kasumi. The Master Thief jumped at the mere mention of the name and quickly did her best to hide that she had been surprised. It wasn't very successful.

"Why?" She asked, nervousness slipping into her voice.

"Every time I take a look at anything in your room, most of it has to do with this Keiji and you're willing to take on Donovan Hock to get the greybox back. I know Hock isn't the biggest fish in the sea but he's certainly not someone that people mess with lightly. Keiji must have meant a lot to you." Johanna noted to the master thief, telling her things that she had noticed. Kasumi smiled sadly and looked as though she was lost in memories for a moment before answering.

"That obvious huh?" Kasumi said with a sad sigh. Johanna shrugged to her question and waited patiently. "Well, Keiji, was a brilliant thief. Not to my level but…."

* * *

**When I tried to write about Kasumi, I realized how little she actually tells you about Keiji. She tells you how they met and how he died but that's about it. So I left it up to the reader's imagination. And its pretty much hinted at through one of conversations that Jack is bi or is open towards that relationship. If not, I'm ascertaining it. And yes, I'm holding that the two Shepards are bi. Also, last thing, Jack's dialogues are cut really short during the romance like they couldn't get anything out besides Jack being confused at the relationship. And I understand it and all but its a drag getting everything out of her. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Heyo! Posting this a bit later in the day than normal but I'll be damned if I get into the habit of posting late! That being said: Read, Enjoy, Review.**

John pulled his helmet off and slammed his fist into the side of the shuttle angrily. They had just barely escaped the Collector ship after being led into a trap. A trap the Illusive Man knew about. His fist clenched just thinking about the cold-hearted bastard, sitting in his chair and casually smoking his cigarette. Nobody puts his crew in danger for no reason. Of course, his entire crew had been on comm when EDI had told them the truth, leaving no secrets. Jack was pissed, to say the least, using her rage to rip a Scion in half just to vent some steam and then continued with a rampage that ripped apart close to a couple dozen husks. Miranda was shocked, not handling the betrayal very well, having assumed that the Illusive Man had seen her as more of an asset meant to be preserved than to be risked like that. Not that she would admit it, claiming the Illusive Man was simply doing what he thought needed to be done, but the evidence was in her eyes. Johanna was as angry as Jack, but without the sufficient power to fuel rage induced biotic attacks, she had to settle for using her weapons to tear apart Collectors. The others didn't seem as shocked, Garrus simply noting that he had been betrayed enough for it not to matter. "Goddammit!" Jack yelled in anger, using her biotics to through a cargo crate across the hall.

"I don't know why you're so surprised Jack, this is what Cerberus does." Johanna commented, stepping out of the shuttle, supporting Garrrus. Garrus had taken some fire on the Collector ship, nothing serious but his leg was going to need some medi-gel before he could walk normally again. "I'll take ugly here to the medical wing." With that, Johanna carried a limping Garrus off.

"You know women love scars. Mind you, most of those woman are krogan." Garrus told Johanna as they pressed towards the elevator, the assassin and Justicar hot on their heels, both needing slight patching. Jack was still angry, looking for a way to vent her anger. Unfortunately, her attention fell to the two Cerberus operatives before them. Sensing the danger, John motioned towards Grunt to intercept the fight, since he was the only one who could take Jack's full rage and recover from it.

"This is what Cerberus does! This is why we should ditch these two assholes for the Collector's to find!" Jack demanded, pointing a finger accusingly at the two.

"Now wait just a moment. We were on that ship too. If the Illusive man thought it was necessary to send us in, he did so with the confidence that we would…." Miranda began defending herself but was forced to dodge a biotically thrown cargo crate.

"Oh stow the bullshit! You Cerberus bastards only care for yourselves!" Jack screamed angrily, glowing with biotics as she stepped forward in a menacing manner. Miranda didn't step forward but her glare told Jack that she welcomed the challenge between them. It was that moment that Grunt grabbed Jack by the collar and lifted her into the air. "Dammit put me down you overgrown lizard!" Jack yelled in anger, slamming a biotic wave into Grunt. The krogan stumbled but was otherwise unaffected by the biotic attack, his hand still clamped onto her back.

"Enough! We've already talked about this! Put your anger for each other behind each other for the rest of the mission! Jack, she was the same ship as us when it happened, she's not at fault." John told his team. Jack growled under her breath but her biotics dissipated and her fist unclenched. John nodded and Grunt set Jack back down, letting her go. She nodded towards Shepard and sent a glare towards Miranda, before storming off towards the elevator. Grunt and Zaeed followed behind, bantering about who had killed the most collectors in the ambush. The only two who didn't seem to care for the betrayal one way or another.

"Thank you Shepard. I was worried she would have acted on impulse. You always know the right thing to say." Miranda thanked the commander, lightly touching his shoulder while giving him a warm smile. John nodded in acceptance, turning to face the woman. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Tali's body language shift into a more defensive stance while her attention was focused on Miranda. He made a note to ask her what happened later.

"We don't need Jack ripping a hole in the cargo bay over some grudge." John nodded in agreement. Then before Miranda could say anything else, John turned towards her and looked her directly in the eye. "That being said Miranda, someday you'll have to accept that no matter the perfection of your genes or expertise, to the Illusive Man, we are all nothing but pawns on a chessboard. Expendable if it would get him a better position in the world. If the Illusive Man actually cared for you, he would tell you that he sent you into an ambush." Miranda started as though she had been punched in the gut by his words, as if she hadn't thought of it the same way before. John didn't say anything more, silently standing where he was as Mordin, Jacob and Miranda took the next elevator.

John was suddenly aware that he and Tali were the only ones left in the shuttle bay, Kasumi having disappeared with her tactical cloak, probably still stalking Jacob. It was almost embarrassing if you knew how to spot a tactical cloak, every time that Shepard entered the armory, there was the slight shimmer of the tactical cloak on the nearby table. He was almost tempted to tell Jacob about the thief's interest, but decided not to. John looked around the shuttle bay to be sure that Kasumi was sulking around in a nearby corner before turning towards the Quarian. "So, is this just like old times?" She giggled and turned to make her way to the elevator.

"Careful, or you might start sounding like Garrus." Tali told him as he caught up to her.

"So, did something happen between you and Miranda?" John wondered as they made their way to the elevator. Tali jumped and nervously began to wring her hands together, in her cute worried way.

"No, not really. Why do you ask?" Tali wondered.

"Just noticed a little tension between the two of you lately. Wanted to make sure she was treating you right. Garrus keeps complaining about her checking the cannons every time he made an upgrade." John worried. Tali eased a little, slowing her hand wringing.

"Its nothing. Just…nothing." Tali told him as the elevator arrived.

* * *

"If there is one thing you and Shepard share, it is the knack of having me on my toes." Chakwas mentioned as she applied the last helping of medi-gel on Garrus's wound before standing up from where she was kneeling. Johanna sat on a nearby table, having watched the treatment with a silence while slowly stacking up the number of taunts she had ready towards the Turian. One was a poorly hidden phobia of needles. "Well, you should be fine. That being said, you are confined to the med-bay for the rest of the day. I do not want to restitch the wound because of some wary calibrations." Garrus opened his mouth to complain but Chakwas cut him off. "If I find you off this bed when I returned from the Science lab, Mister Vakarian, I will sedate you until you cannot move."

"Didn't know you had a thing for Salarians Chakwas." Johanna commented as the elderly doctor grabbed a nearby medical bag. Chawkas laughed at the crude humor, looking at the Shepard Sibling with amusement.

"I'm afraid the time of my life for such things are over. We are merely examining the latest collector sample to determine if the skin is able to function as an organic armor." Chakwas explained herself. "Do not let Mister Vakarian leave the medical bay." It sounded almost like a threat but before Johanna could be sure, the doctor had left the room, leaving her and Garrus alone. Samara and Thane had chosen to heal in silence, their wounds not being serious enough for a forced medical stay. Garrus sighed and laid back on the medical bed, his feet hanging limply over the end of the bed.

"The great turian hunter defeated by an elderly doctor. Who'd have thought?" Johanna commented, mimicking his position on the bed.

"Sometimes, I get the feeling I'm just here for my looks." Garrus joked.

"Yeah, sometimes we need to get rid of some really persistent hiccups." Johanna bantered with a laugh. A silence fell over them, both of them watching the ceiling with thoughts rebounding off the side of their heads. Though the thoughts were of differing degrees. "We're glad to have you here Garrus. We couldn't do it without you." Garrus laughed and sat up again.

"Sure you could. Not as stylishly of course." Johanna let out a small snort of laughter despite the joke being mediocre at best. She stood up from where she was lying and went over to where Garrus was sitting, sitting on the medical bed with him. He sighed and looked outside the med-bay windows, looking at the calm humans milling back and forth in the mess. Miranda had just taken a meal from Gardener, and with the intent of returning to her room to be by herself, was stopped by Jacob, who convinced her to follow him. "It's strange going into a suicide mission on a human ship. Your people don't prepare for high-risk operations the same way that Turians do."

"Ah, I had a former Turian Blackwatch member who told me about it once. I ignored most of what he said, but something about sparring caught my attention." Johanna told Garrus, reminiscing about the talks she had with former black ops members from every species.

"Our commanders run us tight. And they know we need to blow off steam. Turian ships having training rooms for exercise, combat sims, even full contact sparring. Whatever lets people work off stress." He saw Johanna's condescending look as she thought about it. "It was supervised of course. Nobody is going to risk an injury that interferes with the missions. And it's a good way to settle grudges amicably." Garrus stood up and began to pace as he talked. He stopped, his mandibles flaring as he remembered something else. "I remember right before this one mission, we were about to hit a Batarian pirate squad. Very risky. This recon scout and I had been at each other's throats. Nerves mostly. She suggested we settle it in the ring."

"I assume the big bad hunter took the poor lady down gently?" Johanna teased, thinking about Turian females. Not very many of them were seen off of Palaven outside of military jobs but she did remember the one that always followed Aria T'Loak.

"Actually, she and I were the top-ranked hand-to-hand specialists on the ship. I had reach and she had flexibility. It was brutal." He stressed the last word, stopping as he faced towards the medical bay doors, staring off as if reliving the moment like than did. "After nine rounds the judge called it a draw. There were a lot of unhappy betters in the training room." He stopped and chuckled to himself. "We, uh, ended up holding a tie breaker in her quarters afterwords. I had reach, and she had flexibility. More than one way to work off stress I guess." Johanna put on a smile and shook her head. Then her smile changed and she walked over to where Garrus was standing, stepping in front of him and aiming the smile at him.

"Sounds like you're carrying some tension. Maybe I could help you get rid of it?" Johanna said in her most seductive voice. A little doubt in the back of her head wondered what she was doing and whether this was a good idea. Though, probing it, she realized her fear wasn't about looking stupid of silly but something else altogether. None of this inner conflict showed on her face as she looked at the oblivious Turian before her.

"I didn't think you'd want to spar with anyone besides your brother?" Garrus pointed out, shrugging his shoulders. Johanna almost laughed at his misguidance. She considered that she could always play off what Garrus thought, pretend this never happened. She could avoid the possibility of what she feared. She scoffed at herself. What kind of Shepard would she be if the prospect of being turned down scared her off but not the prospect of dying a horrible death at the hands of the Collectors?

"Well, then we can skip right to the tiebreaker then. We could test your reach…..and my flexibility." She told Turian, running a hand along the collar of his armor to stress her point. Her heart was beating unnaturally fast for acting so casual in her current situation. She watched with amusement as realization came across Garrus's face, causing him to jump a little at the suggestion.

"Oh! I didn't…..huh." He fumbled with his words, gaining a smile from Johanna. It was actually kind of cute watching him get nervous. He cleared his throat, mandibles flaring before adopting a stoic demeanor. "Never knew you had a weakness for men with scars. Well, why the hell not? There's no one in this galaxy that I respect more than you and your brother."

"Me?" Johanna was surprised at this. John made sense. He was N7, Captain of the most advanced stealth frigate and the first human Spectre to boot. But herself included? Someone with Garrus's background respecting someone with hers? Sure, she was respected by the underground members in Omega, even Aria herself had told her once that she would be worthy of her own attention should she ever piss the Asari off. It tickled her inside but she laughed at the idea of being best by the asari. Still, someone with the title Officer Vakarian behind him, she would think the man would respect her best.

"Yeah. You fight for what you think is right, no matter the consequences. Your family is important to you and you protect them. Anyone like that is worth more respect than the galaxy has room for." Johanna found herself smiling at this, feeling the warmness of his compliment coursing through her.

"Well, you better be careful Mister Vakarian or I might pounce on you now." Johanna told him with a laugh. The thought was tempting enough but she did have a smidget of self-control left. Garrus squirmed a little at the idea of the suddenness.

"If we can find a way to make it work, then….yeah. Definitely."

* * *

"Call from the Illusive Man, figure you've got a few words for him too." John nodded at Joker's message and his mind went through the very long list of names that he wanted to call their enigmatic leader of Cerberus, none of them flattering. John went into the conference room and stepped onto the communicator the moment it replaced the conference table.

"Shepard! Look like EDI extracted some interesting data before the Collectors ship back online." The Illusive Man greeted a little too enthusiastically. John just curled his fists in anger, wanting the first thing out of this man's mouth to be an apology for putting his entire squad in danger.

"EDI told us the distress call originated from the Collectors. You betrayed us. Just like I knew you would." John growled at the man. TIM just stared at him without remorse, taking a long drag from his cigarette before answering him.

"We're at war. The Collectors are taking humans, and every minute we waste is one more we give the enemy to prepare." The Illusive Man told him. John held back his scoff that showed he obviously didn't believe the man. His father always told him there were two types of military leaders. One that sacrificed his men only when there no other option, the one who always found another way to do things. And then there were men like the Illusive Man. Men who will casually sacrifice men to get the mission done, who believed his subordinates were nothing more than expendable pawns in a chess game.

"I know that stakes! But we're supposed to be on the same side, and I can't trust you." John told him. He hated working with people like this. Every life was important, no matter who they were.

"Without that information, we don't reach the Collector homeworld. And you and every other human may as well be dead." TIM excused him, tapping his ash tray with his cancer stick. "It was a trap….But I was confident in your abilities. And don't forget EDI. The Collectors couldn't have anticipated it."

"You could have told me that plan. You say I'm important, but you sure try hard to get me and my team killed." John pointed out.

"I needed the Collectors to believe they had the upper hand. Telling you could've tipped them off in any number of ways. Besides, I wouldn't have sent you in if I didn't think you could succeed." The Illusive Man calmly and stoically explained. John wished he could have been in the same room as the man so he could hit him. Men like this didn't deserve the power they had.

"I don't risk people. There is always a better way." John told him, crossing his arms.

"You may not like being on the receiving end—neither would I—but the facts are with me. As much as we try to avoid them, these decisions need to be made." TIM told him.

"What facts? All you've told me is that it was necessary. You want me to believe you, give me a reason." John growled. He was tired of hearing that petty excuse. The Illusive Man knew things he didn't so that entitled him to play with the lives of others.

"Shepard, please, don't insult me. Your humanities first Spectre. You stand for everything Cerberus strives for, even if you don't want to. I wouldn't risk your life unless absolutely necessary." The Illusive Man waved off John's obvious anger towards him. "But more importantly... It paid off." _Changing the subject? Typical. _"EDI confirmed our suspicions. "The Reapers and Collector ships use an advanced IFF system that the relays recognize. All we need to do is get our hands on one of those IFFs."

"Maybe if I had been told what I was walking into, maybe I could have grabbed one." John snipped at the man before him. He was getting tired of the information only coming after he knew it for a fact. TIM stared at John for a moment for the obvious sarcasm in his statement.

"As I said, EDI just confirmed it. Besides, you wouldn't have had time to find and extract it. But we have options." TIM told him, picking up the scotch from his chair.

"For someone who had such absolute faith in my abilities, you don't seem to trust me very much." John commented, his glare still as threatening as he could make it. TIM ignored the comment, not improving his character in the eyes of John. But no more was said on the subject, mostly because the Illusive Man refused to speak about it.

"So the Illusive Man didn't sell us out. Could've fooled me." Jacob commented, shaking his head in anger. Mordin paced back and forth behind him, John unsure whether the Salarian was pent up with nervous energy or regular energy, though he wasn't sure if there was much of a difference between the two for him.

"Lied to us. Used us. Needed access to the collector data banks. Necessary risk." Mordin excused the actions.

"He better not try something like that again, or the Collectors will be the least of his worries." John muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. He hadn't even gotten the ghost of an apology, simply told to tell his crew he didn't risk their lives unnecessarily, something John didn't even believe but he didn't need to deal with half the crew demanding the head of their sponsor at the moment.

"I'll rip the man's head off myself." Jack hissed through her teeth, leaning against the nearby wall. She was clenching and unclenching her fist, her eyes occasionally glazing over as if she was lost in a fantasyland of killing the Illusive Man.

"But how can we be sure the Illusive Man was telling the truth? He lied to us about the Collector ship?" Tali commented from beside John.

"I don't trust the Illusive Man anymore than I'd trust a reaper, but I trust EDI. She hasn't done us wrong yet." John assuaged her doubts.

"My analysis is accurate." EDI promised, her avatar springing up from the middle of the table. "I have also determined the approximate location of the Collector homeworld based on navigation from their vessel." A galaxy map replaced the avatar and the entire ground team watched as the AI showed them the Collectors path through every star system, eventually ending in the galactic core. The entire team was silent with shock for a moment. Everyone who had ever been in a starship knew that the only thing in the core was blackholes and exploding suns. The thing that kept all the planets and star systems from floating off into dark space.

"That can't be right." Miranda said, the first to speak.

"Better run the diagnostics, John. Looks like our AI got a bug in the software." Johanna mentioned, pulling up her omni-tool.

"My calculations are correct. The Collector homeworld is located within the galactic core." EDI promised, before pulling up the map once more.

"Could be an artificial construction. Space station protected by powerful mass effect fields and radiation shields." Mordin offered his own input.

"Impossible. Even the Collectors don't have that kind of technology." Miranda mentioned.

"The Collectors are just the servants of the real enemy. And we've all seen what their masters are capable of. They built the mass relays and the Citadel. Who's to say they can't build a space station surrounded by black holes?" John reminded the team. "No wonder nobody's ever returned from a trip through the Omega-4 mass relay."

"There must a small safe zone on the far side of the relay. Somewhere ships can survive. It makes a certain kind of sense. It keeps them safe from any number of enemies that could come after them without them having to fire a single shot." Garrus offered his own opinion. "Drift is common in relay transits and it would be a really bad thing to drift in the galactic core."

"Drift would be fatal." EDI told them bluntly.

"Well, I was trying to put a bow on it but yeah, in a nutshell." Garrus replied with a shrug.

"The Reaper IFF must trigger the relay to use more advanced, encrypted protocols." EDI suggested. The ground team was silent as the next matter came to mind to each and every one of them. Were they ready to face the Collectors? John though about it for a moment. He looked at Miranda and Jack, both whose personal issues were out of the way. It was obvious they were ready for anything, Jack getting rid of her childhood both physically and mentally and Miranda finally having something to live for other than duty. But were the others. He still had to deal with Jacob's dad, a mission that he had been putting off because of its lack of a time constraint. Miranda's sister was happening then, and with the looming party of Donovan Hock coming in a few days didn't offer much of a delay. He didn't want his team going through the mission with regrets. Regrets and hesitation got people killed when in a situation like that.

"Just because we can follow the Collectors through the relay doesn't we can take them out. I don't want to go after them until I know we're ready." John told his team. He heard a sigh from Tali, as if she had been holding in breath for this very response.

"Sooner or later we need that IFF. I say, why wait?" Jacob pointed out.

"The Reapers are capable of indoctrinating anyone without a strong willpower. If we're going to install something that's from a reaper on this ship, I want to make sure everyone is dedicated to the cause." John told his crew, looking around at them in a silent message. "If you need something done, or have unattended business, then come to me. We'll get it done before we go to the Reaper."

"That's a smart call Commander. We need to strengthen the resolve of our team before we take that kind of risk." Miranda stepped in, smiling towards John. Johanna smirked from where she was when she saw this smile and her brother's obvious ignorance.

"It's your call, Battlemaster. As long as you find me enemies to fight, I'll stick with you." Grunt pledged from where he stood. The others took this as a silent confirmation to leave, Jacob with a salute, Mordin with a nod, and the rest in silence. John noticed with a slight tringe of protectiveness that Garrus and Johanna were walking a tad too close for his comfort. He would have said something but he noticed that Tali was standing silently beside him, wringing her hands together in the common sign of nervousness. _God, is she cute when she does that._

"Something on your mind Tali?" John asked, leaning against the table.

"Shepard, I may need your help." She said, as she began to pace.

"Anything you need, name it." John told her. This didn't seem to ease her mind as much as he had hoped, but she stopped pacing.

"I just received a message from the Migrant Fleet. The Admiralty Board had accused me of treason." She stopped for a moment, as if trying to gather her courage. "I'm scared, Shepard." John felt his eyes narrow that possibility of the Admiralty Board accusing Tali of treason. The very idea made him angry.

"Nobody who knows you could believe you'd betray your people Tali." John told her, getting out of his relaxed position and walked closer to her. He didn't like it when she was so upset.

"I don't know Shepard. They don't lay down charges like this unless the evidence seems absolute." Tali sighed, resting a single three fingered hand over her mask. "But thanks. I appreciate your faith in me, Shepard."

"This isn't because you're working with Cerberus is it?" John worried. Did he bring this down upon Tali? The very thought made it seem as though something inside him was shriveling up. He looked down in shame.

"I'm not working for Cerberus. I'm working with you. And I got leave to serve on the Normandy again." Tali assured him. It made him feel a little better but not by much. "I have no idea what they're accusing me of. You'd think I would remember if I'd betrayed the fleet!" She added bitterly as an after note.

"So what happens when a Quarian is accused of treason?" John wondered.

"There's a hearing, with members of the Admiralty Board acting as judges." She paused for a moment and turned away, walking a few steps before stopping again. "My father is an Admiral on the board. He'll have to recuse himself from judgment. I can't even imagine what he's thinking right now." She stopped with a sigh, turning back towards Shepard. "The punishment for treason is exile. If they convict me, I can never go back." Her voice sounded so upset about the very mention of this punishment. John could only imagine the pain. Seventeen million people who you could call family but never being able to see them again? It was a fate worst that imprisonment or execution.

"So how does the trial work? How soon do we need to get you there?" John asked.

"They'll wait a reasonable for me to come and defend myself. Eventually, if I don't show up, they'll try me in absentia. As for how it works…it's less formal than an Earth trial, or something you'd see on the Citadel. We're a family. This is just the worst kind of family meeting."

"Well, we can't have that. Let's go find the Flotilla." John told her. He could almost see the smile that came to her lips at this.

"I was going to book passage on another ship. I didn't think there would be time for you to help. Thank you, Shepard." She stepped forward, as if she was going to do something but stopped and walked over to the console where EDI's avatar popped up. "I'll program the Normandy with the Flotilla's current location. The Admirals will be waiting for us." She nodded towards Shepard and left the conference room. John sighed and shook his head. He should have done something more than say he would help to make her feel better. Damn, why was it so hard to do this?

* * *

**Yay! Garrus and Johanna have begun their romance, which will get more fluffy later. Promise. Also, One of the things that always bothered me was that the "team meetings" almost always consisted of just Mordin, Jacob and Miranda. I mean, I just spent hours convincing all these convicts, assassins, and highly dangerous aliens to join my team for their personal opinions and expertise and they don't even get a say. And it is shown that they can have all the team in one place at once right before the assault on the collector base begins. So this was my envisionment. Last thing was that I thought Shepard gives up on berating the Illusive Man too easily after the Collector ship incident. All he says "I have the information" and your forced to accept it. So I added a slight change. That's all. You can go now and read the other fabulous fanfics on this sight. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Heyo! I was thinking what was the difference between a rock and a stone. I mean, is rock a class of stone or is stone a class of rock? I mean, stone sounds cooler but rock sounds sturdier. Maybe it's just so someone could have two ways to say something...What's that? You want to read the story already. Alright, fine, ignore my spouts of crazy wonderment. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

"This is Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya. Requesting permission to dock with the Rayya." Tali said as she paced back and forth behind Joker. John had spared no time in getting her to the fleet, only hours after she had told him did he walk into engineering and tell her the fleet was in sight. He stood behind, leaning back on one leg and his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Our system has your ship flagged as Cerberus. Verify." A quarian voice sounded over the radio.

"After time adrift among open stars, among tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return from where I began." Tali spoke her code phrase. Quarians were given two when they left the fleet as they often returned in ships unmarked by the fleet. One was to tell the fleet everything was okay, and the ship was safe. Unclean at the worst. The other was if the Quarian was under distress, being forced to say a code phrase or something of the like. If that was the case, well…The fleet made sure that the ship couldn't pose a threat to them anymore. The Quarian operator accepted the code and gave them permission to dock. "We'd like a security and quarantine team to meet us. Our ship is not clean." She sighed as this too was granted to her and turned to face John behind her.

"Poetic." He commented, smiling obviously underneath his breath helm.

"It's a security phrase. One is to the let the fleet know nothing is wrong. And the other is for the opposite. The fleet makes sure that the ship doesn't reach the flotilla for the latter." Tali explained. "You should get your team together. We have to go aboard."

"Actually, I thought I'd let you pick the team for this one. You know your people the best, so you know who's less likely to cause a ruckus." John explained, handing her a datapad. She paused for a moment. John never let anyone pick his teams, even when he was working under the council and Alliance. She remembered that Kaiden had once told her that he had a hour long battle with Alliance command about choosing his own ground soldiers for the Eden Prime mission.

"Shepard, unless you bring a geth aboard, I don't think my people will care." Tali told him. He nodded and shrugged.

"True but I think you do." He excused his actions, waving the datapad in front of her to tempt her. She sighed and took the pad, glad he trusted her with something like this. She immediately crossed off Miranda off her list, the bosh'tet being an obvious insider with the Illusive Man. And it wasn't like she hadn't seen the looks she had been giving John. The jealousy caused her to blush underneath the helmet and she went back to choosing the squad. She crossed off Jacob too, though with not as much hatred as she did Miranda. He was Cerberus and her people still hated every Cerberus soldier since the attack. Grunt and Zaeed also were cut, knowing Grunt bringing a krogan with a hard time sitting still to a political hearing was a bad idea. Eventually she narrowed the team down to just three, then handed it back to Shepard.

"Will do. I get them ready and get their breather helms on. Meet you in the airlock."

* * *

"Captain Shepard. Tali'Zorah told me a lot about you. I wish we could be meeting under more pleasant circumstances." A quarian captain greeted the group as they entered the ship. A number of quarians shuffled past them, most likely the Quarantine team.

"Actually, its Commander. I never reached the rank of Captain. Technically, I'm not even part of the Alliance anymore." Shepard told the Captain, offering a hand forward to Tali's captain. He'd noticed the mistake on Haestrom as well, when he rescued the Quarian marines. He hadn't corrected it at the time, too busy with the geth shooting at him to care too much about whether they called him Captain or Commander.

"You're the Commander of the Normandy, responsible for the lives aboard it. That entitles to respect among our people." The Quarian captain excused his error. The Captain paused for a moment before he continued with: "May you stand between your crew and harm as you lead them through the empty quarters of the stars'" John wasn't aware of Tali staring at him during the entire sentence, with a stare that caused Kasumi to elbow Johanna and whisper something that caused all three squadmates to laugh.

"Keelah se'lai. It's an old ship captain's blessing." Tali explained after it was over, ignoring the snickers behind her. "It's one of Kar'Danna's favorites."

"Anyone who treats one of our people with respect is entitled to it." Kar'Danna replied.

"Tali's helped the Normandy's crew out on many occasions. I'm just starting to return the favor." John told him with a nod.

"I understand. As the commander of the vessel she serves on, your voice carries weight." Kar'Danna told him. "I wish I could do more to help Tali. The trial requires that I remain officially neutral but….I'm here, if you need to talk. They're charging you with bringing active geth onto the fleet as part of a secret project." Tali stepped forward, her stance getting defensive at the accusation.

"That's insane. I never brought active geth onto the fleet. I only sent parts and pieces!" She protested. John stopped, looking at her in disbelief, a look she couldn't see past his breather helm.

"You sent geth materials back to the fleet?" John asked, making it very obvious that he disproved of the idea.

"Yes. My father was working on a project. He needed the materials." She defended herself. Doubt crept into her voice as she continued though. "If I sent back something that was only damaged, not permanently inactive…..No, no. I checked everything, I was careful."

"Technically, I'm under orders to place Tali'Zorah under arrest pending the hearing. So, Tali….you're confined to the ship until this trial is over." Kar'Danna mentioned from where he stood. John bit his lip, knowing this was a discussion for later, after Tali was cleared. Tali thanked him for that. "Preparations are underway as soon as you arrived. The hearing is being held in the Garden Plaza. Good luck."

* * *

"Tikkun! You're here too?" Tali asked, seeing a familiar black envirosuited female walking towards. Kal'Reegar seemed to cock his head towards her in greeting before returning his attention to the Commander. Tali wanted to talk the people at the hearing, get a good idea where they stood. John had bought them some time with his silver tongue but they both knew it was important to understand where everyone stood.

"We all owe you Tali." Tikkun told her, greeting her with a hug. "My Captain gave me leave to watch the trial. I figured I could offer morale support, if nothing else."

"Thanks for coming. Where's Myr?" John wondered, walking up to her. Reegar had had his say and was now wandering off into the crowd. Tikkun hesitated for a moment, looking around at the crowd.

"He's here somewhere. He's just…" She stopped and looked up at Tali with an aura of sadness about her. "He didn't take what happened on Haestrom very well. He's been having nightmares and the doctor's say he has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."

"Losing an entire squad is never easy." Johanna sighed from behind them, with Garrus nodding along in agreement.

"He's been given mandatory counseling. He's gotten better and he's opening up again but….." Tikkun trailed off, looking into the crowd again.

"You care a lot for him, don't you?" Tali asked, noticing the amount of worry that was in her voice. She rubbed her visor with a small, sheepish laugh and looked at Tali.

"Yeah. But I don't think he's noticed." She sighed and looked at Tali. "I don't think it would work out anyways. Especially after Haestrom."

"You shouldn't give up too easily." John mentioned before Tali could respond. "It would be better to have said you tried everything before giving up. It's better to say you tried everything….."

"Than nothing at all." Tali finished. "It's a popular human saying." Tikkun nodded in agreement and turned towards Shepard.

"Thank you. If you need anything, just let me know. I owe you my life after all."

* * *

"Hunter, to the left!" John called as he sent a geth trooper flying to the side with a heavy biotic shockwave. Kasumi and Johanna shifted their fire and ripped apart the geth hunter with ease, their eyes accustomed to spotting each other's tactical cloaks. A loud bang sounded behind them as Garrus's put a round into the light of a geth's head, resulting in a shower of white "blood" from the geth and effectively ending the combat.

"No wonder the Quarians didn't stand a chance. There is way too many geth here to handle with an inexperienced team." Garrus mentioned as they began to move to the next room. "The Quarians excel at ship to ship combat but when it comes to ground infantry…..well, let's just say I would sooner trust an unhappy Krogan behind me." Tali ignored the Turian's comment about the marines of her species opening the next door and entering a small room with an intact computer without a word. Johanna elbowed Garrus in the stomach at this, giving him a look beneath her mask that threatened him more than any krogan would. "Right, not the time. Sorry." Garrus apologized. John eyed the two suspiciously before following Tali into the room.

"This console might have something. Most of the data is corrupted, but a few bits are left." Tali told John as he walked up behind her. She pulled up her omni-tool, decrypting the data in a matter of seconds. "They were preforming experiments of geth systems, looking for new ways to overcome geth resistance to reprogramming. I thought he was testing weapons, looking for a way to bypass their shields or armor."

"Do you think testing weapons on the geth was right?" John asked her, worried about what her reaction might be. Man or machine, everyone deserved rights.

"It's not testing weapons on prisoners, Shepard! I only sent father parts. Even if he assembled them, they wouldn't be sapient. You saw what Saren and Sovereign did with the geth. Any research that gives us an advantage is important." She explained herself. John reluctantly agreed with her. You weren't violating anyone's rights if they weren't even alive for it to be violated. Still the thought of even justifying it rubbed him the wrong way. Still, he didn't want to get into the fight once more.

"Could any of that data clear your name?" John hoped.

"Doubtful. This is mostly results data. Effects on different disruptive hacking techniques. I don't understand it all." Tali told him, turning back to the computer and typing on it. "But….they may have been activating the geth deliberately. Nothing here says specifically. But if they were…. Then father was doing something terrible." She sighed as she said this, looking towards the screen as if hoping it would hold all the answers to the questions she had in her head. "What was all this, father? You promised you'd build me a house on the homeworld. Was this to bring us back home?"

John almost stopped himself from saying it. It was rude and it was like he was stomping on the dreams of every Quarian but someone needed to say it. Their groundside military was a joke to everyone else, easily defeated by just about every enemy, even the ones that they were 'specialized' in taking down and their immune systems would leave little error for their ground troops. They would also be fighting one of the toughest enemies in the entire galaxy, one's that didn't need sleep and even rest for battle, needed no food and could survive in every atmosphere. The odds were stacked highly against them. "Maybe its time for your people to let go of reclaiming your homeworld from the geth." John suggested. Tali rounded on him immediately and he could feel the rest of his squad jumped behind him.

"Uh, we'll be killing geth in the next room if you need us."Garrus excused the team, and they quickly exited the room, Johanna dragging Kasumi who wanted to stay for the juicy gossip. "I'll take Geth over an angry Tali any day." Garrus muttered before the door closed.

"You have no idea what its like!" Tali accused the moment the gunshots sounded from the next room, her voice heavy with anger. "You have a planet to go back to! My home is one hull breach away from extinction!"

"You have a home here Tali. Don't throw it away in a war you don't need." John told her calmly, refusing to back down. He tried to place a comforting hand on her shoulder but she backed away from it, her glowing eyes clearly squinted into a glare.

"Don't need? Shepard, if I don't wear a helmet in my own home, I die! A single kiss could put me in the hospital!" Tali practically hissed at him. "Everytime you touch a flower with bare fingers, inhale its fragrance without air filters, you're doing something I can't!" Her tone drifted into the melancholic as she talked, still wreathed with anger. "Damn the Pilgrimage! Without it, I would have never known what I was missing! What we had lost when we lost our homeworld."

"Haven't the Quarians considered colonizing a new world?" John asked. He was aware of the gunshots in the next room beginning to fade as their three squadmates finished what was left of the geth incursion of that area. He found himself wishing he was in there, fighting with the geth instead of arguing with Tali about whether the end justified the means.

"We'd have enough trouble acclimatizing to our own native environment. Adjusting for exposure to a foreign environment would be even harder. It's the difference between 60 years and 600. For anyone alive now to watch a sunset without a mask, we must take back our home." She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "At the very least, we can take back one ship. Come on."

* * *

They had it, they had the evidence they need to clear Tali's name for the admirals. There was only one problem with it. It cast all the blame on Tali's father, on the late Admiral Rael'Zorah. They had found his body, riddled with holes from the geth's weapons and lacking any sign of life, with only a single message to Tali, telling Tali to give the Admiralty Board the data they had collected on the geth. The data that had all the results from the experiments that cost many quarians their lives and the data that while obtained through horrible means, was thorough and would certainly be helpful. The very data that would no doubt get Rael'Zorah posthumously exiled and his entire reputation slandered. The data Tali had asked him not to hand over.

Every one of his instincts begged him to hand over the data, telling him that her father did not deserve such a loyal daughter with someone who would use her. A person who would leave her to clean up his mess. At least he tried to tell her that she didn't deserve to give exile on his behalf. He looked at the his omni-tool as they walked towards the courtroom, debating in his mind whether he should turn in her father. He looked in front of him as Tali led the way back to the courtroom. No, she would never forgive him if he did that. He didn't care if her father was exiled or made a hero because of what happened, but he didn't think he could ever live with Tali being made at him. This realization didn't make it any easier with what he was about to do.

They reached the courtroom right as the Admiralty board finished. "Is the Admiralty Board prepared to render judgement?" Shala'Raan asked the three Admirals before her. John clenched his fist in anger, lips curling back into a growl as he realized they were going to try Tali in her absence. They shoved their way through the crowd of Quarians, who muttered and gasped as they saw the two standing there, completely free of damage.

"Sorry we're late." Tali greeted sarcastically. She must have been just as angered at this, realizing the little amount of faith they had put into her and her captain in taking back the Alarei.

"You didn't waste much time declaring us dead. Go get your ship." John told them. He was tired of this political campaign. Being shot at and saving the world was less difficult than these bull-headed politicians.

"We apologize Shepard. Your success in taking back the Alarei is…..very unexpected." Han'Gerrel spoke first, sending what John assumed was a smug look at Admiral Zaal'Koris. He had spoken with them before he left, noting that they were each other's foils. One favored peace the other war. There was no doubt that Gerrel had said John would survive while Koris claimed their deaths.

"But also very welcome." Raan mentioned, drawing him away from his thoughts on the two Admirals. John bit his lip when he thought of the names to call her. She was supposed to be like Tali's aunt, yet she had been manipulating Tali from the moment she walked into the trial. Her intentions were good but that was all that could be said about them.

"Did you find anything on the Alarei that could clarify what had happened there?" Gerrel asked. John sighed. This was the moment of truth. The urge to just bring up his omni-tool and show them the video of Rael'Zorah implicating himself was one of the strongest urges he had ever had. He shared a long look with Tali, desperately trying to find some way to get her out of this situation. Sighing, He stepped forward, ready to do what he had to.

"Shepard, please." Tali begged. To anybody else, it seemed as though she was begging him to get her cleared of charges, begging him to save her from exile. But he knew what she really meant. She was really to give up her home to save her father from humiliation. And these politicians would gladly punish Tali whether or not she was actually guilty of anything. He knew his fist had to be white by now by how hard he was clenching it. They were threatening Tali, his crewmate and friends for some damn wartime agenda.

"Does Captain Shepard have any new evidence to submit to this hearing?" Raan asked as he stepped forward. Evidence? They needed evidence for him to prove Tali was one of the most loyal Quarian that the fleet had ever seen? They needed evidence that Tali would not set the geth upon her own people even if it meant life or death? That was what this whole damn was about wasn't it. The evidence! Either they got it and Han'Gerrel got his wish to go to war with the geth or they didn't and Koris could keep the peace. His hand was beginning to hurt now.

"Tali's achievements are the only evidence you should need!" Shepard roared at them, pointing an accusing finger at them in anger. "Come on Tali, we're going," He said in a nicer note, turning around and walking away with the full intention of leaving the ship. Tali seemed shocked at his sudden burst of anger but followed nonetheless.

"What?" Raan jumped from where she was. John ignored her, she had no right to say anything right now.

"This is a formal proceeding!" Koris protested angrily. John stopped and spun around, the very idea that this was proceeding was formal striking another nerve.

"Wrong Admiral! This is a sham! You're trying to build sympathy for the geth to forestall the war effort!" John yelled at him. Koris jumped at the accusation and looked away guiltly.

"That is completely….." He stuttered out, trying to hide his actions but John was on his warpath. His attention turned towards Gerrel.

"And you want all the messy experiments covered up so you can throw your fleet at the geth!" Gerrel, like Koris tried to explain his action through a large amount of stuttering, John not caring what he had to say. He turned to the Quarians around them, staring at each one of them as he continued. "Look at them, all of you! They don't care about Tali! All they care about is their war with the geth." The Quarians began to mutter amongst themselves as John began to pace back and forth. He saw Kal'Reegar, Tikkun, Myr and Veetor standing in the back of the crowd, exchanging looks as John spoke. "Tali risked her life for all of you! On Haestrom! Hell, on the Citadel when she stopped Saren! She deserves better than this!" He turned back towards the Admirals with a glowering look that he really wished the Admirals could see underneath his breather helm. Koris regained his composure first.

"If Commander Shepard had no new evidence, I suggest we render judgement." Koris spoke, trying to head off the obvious intent on what John was trying to do. It was too late though, the Quarians were beginning to talk louder, in support of Tali, some even standing and protesting loud enough for the Admirals to hear. There was a slight silence as a single Quarian ran forward and faced the Admirals.

"Wait! Shepard is right! Tali saved me! She doesn't deserve to be exiled!" Veetor supported Shepard's argument. In a second, Reegar and the remainder of the team from Haestrom stepped forward.

"Damn straight! Tali's done more for this fleet than you assholes ever will! You're pissing on everything we fought for! Everything Tali fought for! So if you exile her, you might as well do the same to me!" Reegar shouted in anger.

"Me, too." Veetor said.

"Don't forget us." Tikkun said, speaking for both her and Myr. John smiled with success as he realized his speech was having the effect he had hoped. People were shouting in support of the four who had stepped forward, others proclaiming the same circumstance if Tali was exiled. If they even considered exiling Tali now, they were risking facing a full scale mutiny. He was aware Tali's eyes hadn't left him since his speech had started but he wasn't quite sure what he saw in her eyes. That mask held so many things that he wanted to see.

The Admirals looked back and forth between each other for a moment before opening their omni-tools and pushing the buttons to vote. John imagined that it must be hard to think with the people shouting all around in them, in support of the woman and promising a mass desertion of the ship if it happened. Koris was the last to vote, taking a long look at Tali before tapping in his vote. Raan's omni-tool beeped as it received the votes. "Tali'Zorah, in light of your history of service, we do not find sufficient evidence to convict. You are cleared of all charges." Raan told them the results of the vote. John felt a weight lift from his chest as he heard this, so glad that he would not be the reason that she could never return home. So glad that the woman beside him would have not have to suffer because her father had made a mistake that she was willing to pay for. He heard a sigh of relief from Tali as she looked down and the resounding approval rippling through the Quarian crowd. "Commander Shepard, please accept these gifts in appreciation for you taking the time to represent one of our people." John opened his omni-tool to accept these gifts and looked at Tali with a smile before turning back to the Admirals.

"With all due respect Admiral, I didn't represent one of your people. I represented one of mine."

* * *

"I can't believe you pulled that off. What you said…I never had anyone speak like that on my behalf." Tali thanked John as the Quarians began to depart. "Thank you for my father and me, even when….Thank you."

"We can still go back in and get you exiled if you want." John jokingly suggested, simply happy just to get out of the political nonsense. It was one of the things that he didn't miss about being with the Alliance. She let out a small, cute laugh.

"Thanks, but I'm fine with things like this. It's fun watching you shout." She told him, the relief and happiness in her voice enough to lift John's spirits the rest of the way. That was of course, until he remembered what happened with Rael. He sighed and turned away from her, taking a couple of steps away from her.

"Tali, about what your father said, what he did…..You deserved better." John apologized.

"I got better Shepard. I got you." She told him. He smiled and laughed at that, those words hitting him pleasantly.

"Come on, Miss vas Normandy. I think we have some Quarians to thank."

* * *

**Heyo! Tali's Loyalty mission is now officially done. I combined the rally the crowd speech and renegade speech because they are my two favorite speeches. It's one of the few renegade moments I actually like. As bad as I feel for how the Quarians are portrayed, my Shepards really love yelling at them. They do deserve it too. Also, I threw in the dialogue with the squadmates because in the actual mission, they just kind of stand there awkwardly while everything is happening. I have taken every single squadmate on the mission. Well, till next time. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Heyo! I'm beginning this with a small rant. I just heard some news about the upcoming mass effect 4 and they are claiming that most people chose to kill the Krogan and The Quarians in Mass Effect 3. I think they are lying, because I personally never chose the Geth over the Quarians or killed the Krogan. So, yeah, I'm a little steamed about that, but I'm sure you would not like to hear this so, have a story. **

**This is a Tali-centric chapter, ending in what I'm sure many people have been waiting for. Read, Enjoy, Review. EDIT: I tweaked the conversation between them, so hopefully they sound less like bitches but if not, oh well. They mean well even if they don't seem like it. **

Tali glanced over to where the two Cerberus engineers normally stood, bickering about Ken's latest sexist comment or his latest dirty remark or just engineering in general. They were taking some designated rest time, deserving it for their hard work. They had just installed some FBA couplings that John had bought on Omega after helping Samara with her problem. It would shave hours off of their daily routine, no doubt hours they would spend taking unproductive free time playing Skyllian Five. Ken had been a little too loud expressing his thoughts of inviting John to join them. John would accept, no doubt, seeing Ken and Gabby more as friends than as crew. In many ways, he would have been the perfect captain if he was Quarian. Not that he wasn't a perfect Captain now. As a human. It was just Quarians see there crew as family, not…crew. She sighed and shook her head. Even when he wasn't here, he had her stuttering like an idiot. She focused back on her work.

Until she realized that she had already completed her work for the day. Diagnostics were ran, radiation bleed was in the safe zones and the Normandy was running as smoothly as ever. She sighed as she considered turning in for the day, it being past their designated sleeping time for the crew. She thought back to what John had said for her on the Rayya. He had said so many things about her, rallied the crowd to show how much she was cared for on a ship. It was a strange satisfaction that a whole ship was threatening mutiny if they had exiled her but the best was that John thought she was worth it. He didn't give away the information on her father but he still cleared her name. By just shouting at the Admirals loud enough. Was there something that he couldn't do? First he saved her in the wards, then he saved her on Haestrom, and now he's saved her on the Rayya.

Tali looked around to make sure that Ken or Gabby hadn't come back since she had been lost in thought, before opening her omni-tool. She quickly found the vid she had recently downloaded, one she was too embarrassed to watch in front of the two Cerberus engineers. She pulled it up, her omni-tool opening a screen for her to watch, walking into the drive core on the off chance that someone came into Engineering from her side. _Human Courtship and Mating. _The title flickered on the screen for a moment, as if she had forgotten the vid that she had downloaded. It was an educational vid, done by a Salarian when the humans had first joined the rest of the galaxy. When they were seen as a novelty rather than power-hungry aliens.

_"Humans are very social race. From what I have discovered, they have a variety of cultures, each with a different way of courting one another. The most common way for a human to court someone of interest is through extended contact eventually resulting in a….." _The Salarian's voice began as pictures of human couples began to flash across the screen. They were holding hands, kissing, and sometimes more intimate pictures. She watched for a good ten minutes uninterrupted, soaking in all the information she could from the vid.

"I told you that he's all she thinks about." A certain voice spoke from behind, as the sound of two tactical cloaks disabling sounding behind her. She jumped and quickly turned off the video and rested her hands on the control panel as if she was about to run another systems diagnostics. "Oh, look, she's trying to hide it." Kasumi laughed as she came up beside her.

"We've been watching you since Ken and Gabby left. Kasumi owes me a hundred credits." Johanna laughed, coming up of the other side of Tali, both woman now leaning on the console that Tali was pretending to work about. Tali felt her face burning underneath her helmet, and for the first time in many months, was glad that she had a mask. "Told you I had the patience of a master thief." She mocked Kasumi playfully. Tali put her mask between her hands and shook her head. She could not be so unlucky as to have Kasumi and Johanna find out at the same time. The two biggest gossips on the ship. There was a click of omni-tools as Kasumi transferred credits to Johanna's account before they both finally turned their attention to the really embarrassed Quarian in front of them. "So, how long has this been happening? The secret videos, the research when you think no one is looking. I'm very interested." Johanna asked, leaning uncomfortably close to Tali. Kasumi mimicked her actions on the other side. She really hoped they couldn't see underneath her mask and look at her face.

"He's all she talks about. It's cute, in a butterflies and ponies kind of way." Kasumi told her.

"Keelah, why is this happening to me?" Tali complained, still not removing her head from her hands. This had to be some sort of bad dream and she would wake up in a sleeper pod any moment. Please let this be some sort of bad dream. Let this just be a delirious nightmare from the fever and she was just hallucinating the two being there.

"This what happens when there are tactical cloaks about." Johanna laughed, looking at the Quarian with a knowing look. As if she knew something that Tali didn't. "So, you are 'crushing' on my brother? Crushing doesn't sound too girly does it?" Kasumi shrugged at her question and turned her attention back to the Quarian.

"It's stupid. And I don't know why I was looking it up. And I'm not even sure that…." Tali began to stutter out, hoping that by giving them what they want, they would spare her the hours of teasing. Or she would inadvertently make it worse. Two humans hands lay themselves on each shoulder in comfort while their laughs mocked her.

"I think everyone on this ship wants to get into my brother's pants. First Jack. Then Kelly. Then Miranda. The Normandy is a bottle of raging female hormones." Johanna laughed. Tali looked up. She knew Miranda was showing clear interest in John, but Kelly and Jack had gone after John too? What chance did she stand against three humans, ones who he could kiss when he liked or actually feel their skin. Especially one designed to be the perfect human. Her spirits which had been abnormally high before watching the video was now dropping lower than the floor. "Stop it."

"Stop what?" Tali asked in surprise of Johanna's sudden order.

"The woe me crap you're giving off right now. It's killing the mood." Johanna told her. "My brother may be no brighter than a dull knife but I can read body language. And you're thinking you have no chance in the world right now." Kasumi remained silent but she looked as though she desperately wanted to say some secret she knew.

"But why would he want to be with a Quarian? I can't even remove my mask without risking dying from an infection. He doesn't even know what I look like." Tali pointed out.

"Oh please, men are pigs." Jack announced her arrival, completing the box that would keep Tali in the drive core. Escape was even more unlikely than before. "You're wearing a skin tight suit, Bucket Head. He doesn't need to see your face to want to fuck you." Jack commented motioning towards Tali. Tali suddenly felt very self aware at her environment suit.

"And you were wearing almost nothing and he didn't sleep with you." Johanna reminded.

"His loss." Jack shrugged. Johanna cocked one eye at Jack, watching her until she smiled and shook her head in defeat. "Shit. Alright, most men are pigs. Shepard doesn't really show any pig behavior. Else he'd probably be banging the Cerberus cheerleader."

"Look, while Jack is trying her darnest to be helpful, I know my brother best. He doesn't get angry easy but from the sound of his voice at your trial, he was about to go primeval on them." Johanna shrugged. "Didn't seem to care as much when Miranda's dad was harassing her beyond a friendly concern. Shot some people and saved a life but I didn't hear him yell. I think you have the best chance out of everyone." Jack and Johanna exchanged a look like they knew something that Tali didn't.

"We can't even eat the same food." Tali protested half-heartedly. Was that really true what Johanna was saying? She is John's sister, she would know him best.

"Like levo/dextro will stop the Shepards." Kasumi laughed. Johanna paused for a moment as she realized what Kasumi had said. "Oopsie, let it slip." Tali looked at Kasumi, who didn't seem too particularly upset about whatever secret she let slip. That's when the Quarian realized that Kasumi had said _Shepar_ds, as in a plural way.

"No fucking way." Jack said, looking at Johanna as she reached the same conclusion. Johanna's cheeks turned bright red as she realized that her secret was out, and the now the three woman in the room seemed to be containing her instead of Tali.

"Garrus? You and Garrus?" Tali asked, just so she was clear she was understanding it right. Johanna didn't answer, acting as though she didn't know they existed in order to light a cigarette.

"How…..?" Johanna finally wondered, looking at Kasumi.

"The Medical bay has windows! Just a little bit of convincing and EDI gave me the audio feeds from the room." Kasumi shrugged, chuckling to herself with a mixture of pride and amusement. "It was so corny but cute! Testing his reach and your flexibility. A tale fit for the movies." Johanna nodded to herself, her mouth curling into one of an embarrassed person.

"So what? Does he calibrate your guns instead of his now?" Jack questioned. Johanna coughed slightly to herself and looked up as if she was really interested in the lights above her head. Tali smiled beneath her mask. So, the invincible twins did have a weak spot? Mostly glad the focus was off her, Tali thought of her own quips to make. However, by the time she had one, Johanna's tactical cloak activated and she disappeared. "Hey that's cheating!" Jack playfully shouted. Kasumi chuckled silently then activated her own cloak, disappearing along with the Shepard twin. Jack and Tali were silent for a moment as they realized they were left alone in the room with each other.

"So, I better get back to work." Tali excused herself and turned to leave.

"Hey!" Jack called, stopping the Quarian in her tracks. "He treats you wrong, tell me and I'll castrate him for you. Free of charge." Jack laughed at her jumpiness and walked past her back to her hidey hole.

* * *

"Shepard! What can I do for you?" Tali turned towards Shepard as he approached her from behind. He wasn't wearing his normal outfit, substituting instead for a fancy black and white suit that he looked rather uncomfortable. The Hock party was only a few hours from now, the Normandy already en route to the planet. Kasumi was off, making her own preparations, so for once, there was little danger of eavesdropping.

"It's gonna be a few hours before we get there. I was wondering if you got time to talk." John explained, pulling slightly at his collar in an attempt to loosen it. Her suit got a little hotter, and the fever was not helping at all.

"Sure, just let me…." Tali explained, quickly typing in some commands for the drive core to hide her uncomfortableness. She realized that she had typed in the wrong command a little too late. "Come on, you little bosh'tet!" She looked up apologetically as she realized that John was still there, watching her with a lopsided smile. "I got a small fever and I'm taking it out on the poor drive core." A look of concern played across his lips taking the place of the grin. "Don't worry, nothing serious. Got sloppy during some suit repair." He nodded and looked sadly at her for a moment before taking in a sigh.

"I'm sorry about what I said on the Alarei. I'm not sure I could handle living in a suit my whole life." His voice sounded so sincere when he apologized that she couldn't help but forgive him. She sighed.

"We're in our suits even among our family. The most intimate thing we could do is link our suit environments. We get sick at first, and then we adapt. It's our most important gesture of trust, of acceptance." _Of intimacy. _She didn't say the last part, managing to stop it before the fever made her say it out loud. "I haven't trusted anyone enough for that, though. Except…." She stopped and looked at him longingly. John raised one eye towards her, her look lasting a few moments too long to be passed off as a glance. She looked away, clearing her throat. A thousand thoughts whizzed through her mind, her fever addled brain unable to stop the ones flowing to her mouth. "Well, no Quarians. Um. You know what I mean." John smiled happily.

"I appreciate the thought, Tali, and I feel the same way. But you don't have to prove anything to me." John told her, innocent of what the act really meant.

"I know. Well, not that, I know, but I didn't mean it like that. It's, um…." She stumbled over her hurried explanation, the temperature in her suit rising. "Wow, it is really hot in here." She mentioned, hoping to convince herself that it was just the fever that was making her so damn hot. "It's just that the tradition also signifies a willingness for, um, intimacy." Was that a smile on his lips? Was he laughing at her? Why was he laughing? "I wasn't trying to….It's not always like that. It's more….How did we even end up talking about this?" He was definitely smiling now, looking at her with a massive lopsided grin.

"Wait a minute. It sounds like you're suggesting something, Tali." John innocently mentioned, stepping closer. What was that in his voice? Mocking? So why did she like the tone so much. That stupid fever was making this much more complicated than it had to be. It was too late, she had already suggested it. She leaned back against the console and looked at John as though she'd managed to calm her nerves. What if Johanna had been lying and he didn't see much more than a friend?

"What could I possibly suggesting? I mean, a young woman gets rescued by a dashing commander who lets her join his crew and then goes off to save the galaxy? How could she possibly develop any kind of interest in him?" The last part was said a little too sadly than she had meant. She braced herself for the inevitable denial that would come. Here was the part where he laughed at her, where he made some joke and turned her down. This is where this two year infatuation ended with a broken heart and a crumpled dream. His smile hadn't left his face, but was still warm, and she was suddenly aware that he was a few steps closer than he had been earlier.

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about Tali. I always had a thing for Quarians in purple anyways." John told her. Her heart immediately sped up to a dangerous pace and her fever seemed to fade away as she realized what he had just said. Was this some fever induced hallucination? No, Ken and Gabby were whispering off to the side about what the two were talking about, the two engineers unable to hear them clearly.

"Really? I didn't….you never…." She stuttered out. Her face beneath the mask was shining bright with happiness, a smile larger than she ever had stretched across her face. She forced herself to calm down, just long enough to get out some coherent sentences. "Well, good." The drive core beeped behind her, offering her a way out of this situation before she made a fool of herself. Also, she never corrected that command she had put in. "Anyway, I should get back to work. But….thanks. For coming by. And talking." She nodded and turned away from him, her heart still beating a rate that would make a spaceship jealous.

"I'll come back after the party and we'll talk more." John promised as he left. She listened as his feet hit the metal floor as he left her alone in engineering. That really just happened. She really just had that conversation and John really just said that to her. She was bouncing unnaturally fast on her heels as she thought about this.

* * *

**For those of who that may complain about how I am representing Tali's thoughts, I noticed she really doesn't act confident about the relationship until you've locked in the romance with her. That's when she starts the confident flirting and becoming more assertive over Shepard. Also, Kasumi is the main cause of the scuttlebutt on the Normandy, it's only natural she's around during everyone's most embarrassing moments. The next chapter will focus mostly on both relationships. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Heyo! It's another day and another update for you all. Just more relationship furthering with the two Shepards. Read, Enjoy, Review.**

"Is this really Quarian script?" John asked, looking through the glass at the strange writing before him. His Kuwashii visor had trouble deciphering the letters a few jumbled words getting through though seeming very out of place. He doubted that Quarians felt the need to write about dancing bird with fingers made out of steel.

"Yeah. A lot of big shots like having things before the Quarians were kicked off their planet. But not very many people like risking being shot by geth. They're not like humans. Don't make as many mistakes." Kasumi told him, not even looking at what he was talking about, focusing instead on a strange ogre looking sculpture. It seemed strangely familiar but nothing that John could think of at the moment. Maybe a time from when someone else had to save the world against impossible odds.

"Is it possible to get this out of here?" John wondered, looking over script.

"Unless you want to carry a hundred pound stone underneath your armor, I don't think so." Kasumi told him. "Can we get back to finding the greybox and present shop later?" John nodded and made a move to turn around. However, at the last second, he changed his mind, opening his omni-tool and scanned the script, storing the information for later use. Once he had a complete holographic image of the thing, he turned his attention back to finding the greybox.

"Right, the proximity scanner says that its over there."

* * *

"Is it true that humans have a little dangly thing in the back of your throats?" Garrus asked Johanna as she entered the main battery behind him. Johanna smiled and looked over at the Turian with a suggestive look.

"Any reason you're interested in my mouth, Gare?" Johanna asked.

"Gare?" Garrus wondered, his voice having a hint of teasing in it.

"I was trying to find you a pet name. Gare doesn't work so well. Sounded better in my head." Johanna explained herself. "But back to my question. The sudden interest in my mouth."

"I was looking up human anatomy and it said you humans had a little dangly thing in the back of your throats. Last three sites I was on claimed you humans had eyes on the back of your head." He stopped for a moment, eyeing Johanna as if he really believed it for a moment before he went back his console.

"It's an old humans saying for someone who always knows what's going on." She clarified. She thought about something for a moment before saying: "Mostly moms. I remember my mom always seemed to know what I was doing, even when I sneaking around. Nobody but her ever caught me."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Garrus asked, looking at her.

"Not really. Rather get back to mushy gushy stuff about our little affair." Johanna deflected with humor. She hoped she wasn't too obvious in her intent to stay away from the voice.

"Oh." He stopped typing for a moment and looked at her, hitting a button on the console that closed the door, sealing them off.

"Bit early don't you think?" Johanna joking suggested.

"Look, I've been thinking about what we talked about. Blowing off steam, easing tension. I've never considered cross-species intercourse." He stopped for a moment, his mandibles flaring in embarrassment as he saw Johanna's smile. "And damn, saying it like that doesn't help. Now I feel dirty and clinical." He began to pace back and forth as he talked, his nervous energy filling the room. "Are we crazy to even be thinking about this? I'm not... Look, Shepard. I know you can find something a little closer to home." He scratched his scars nervously as he spoke, looking towards Johanna nervously.

"I don't want something closer to home. I want you. I want someone I can trust." Johanna shrugged and walked closer to him. She sighed and looked into his beady eyes, finding no deceit in them. How often did that happen, that she found someone who wasn't her brother that wouldn't lie to her. "My life isn't exactly one that I like to brag about. Hell, I've lost a lot and I've been betrayed a lot more than would be healthy for anyone else. But something about you. I don't know. I just trust everything you say and I don't see you dying any time soon." She placed a single hand on his forearm as she thought about it. "So, hell, call me crazy but I want to do this."

"I can do that." Garrus promised, taking her hand. "I'll find some music…..and do some research to figure out how this should work." He laughed slightly as her hand slid out of his hand. "It'll either be a night to treasure, or a horrible interspecies awkwardness thing." A moment of silence passed between them, both of them awkwardly staring at each other. "In which case, fighting the Collectors will be a welcome distraction. So, you know, a win either way." Johanna noticed the amount of anxiety in his voice. She stepped forward, placing what she hoped would be a comforting hand on his shoulder. She was as new is at this whole relationship thing as he was. Or he might be.

"You know, Garrus, if you're not comfortable with this…it's okay. I'm not trying to pressure you." She promised. Garrus shook his head.

"Johanna, you're one of the only friends I've got left in this screwed up galaxy." He told her, looking into her eyes. "I'm not going to pretend I've got a fetish for humans…..but this isn't about that. This is about us. You don't even have to worry about making me uncomfortable. Nervous, yes….but never uncomfortable."

"So, when do I book the room?" Johanna wondered, trying to get past this mushy stuff. Her chest was feeling unnaturally warm.

"I'd wait, if you're okay with it. Disrupt the crew as little as possible….and take that last chance to find some calm just before the storm. You know me. I always like to savor the last shot before popping the heat sink." Johanna smiled at the implication behind what he just said. Garrus looked at her obliviously for a moment before realizing what he had just said. "Wait. That metaphor just went somewhere horrible." Johanna laughed to show that no harm was done, and because she enjoyed seeing Garrus like this. This cold, calm hunter that she had met on her first day on the Normandy, was now a nervous mess before her. It was satisfying, not because she had reduced him to a point that she could tease him but because she knew that not many people got see this side of him. How many people did he open up to enough that he got flustered just talking to them?

"Come on, let's get back to work. Your cannons need calibrating." She said, going back to the side of the cannons.

"Right. 'Cause I'm in a great place to optimize firing algorithms right now." Garrus commented before turning back to his console.

* * *

Tali wrung her hands together as she thought about the conversation that they had only an hour before he left for his mission on Bekenstein. John was on his way back, back with Kasumi after a shooting another gunship out of the sky. What did that bring his total to? Three? Four gunships shot out of the sky while he was on the ground? He was really an amazing person, someone who couldn't be stopped when they got into a battle. Sometimes the Quarians she serves with tell her the same thing, her abilities to take down geth largely exaggerated after the Eden Prime War. A Quarian child had once asked her if it was true she had singlehandedly taken down a geth colossus. But she was no Shepard.

The door behind her opened but she figured it was Jack, who had been coming out of her hidey hole more and more often. She hadn't warmed up to everyone, Miranda and Jacob still on her official shit list but most other people seemed safe from random bouts of anger now. She turned to face, and was surprised by who was standing behind, hand stretched out as if to tap her on the shoulder. "Hey." He greeted. He was still in his armor, not having bothered to change out of it. He came to see her first.

"Shepard!" She squeaked in surprise. "What can I do for you?" She kept her voice level on the last part.

"I was wondering if you had time to talk." He asked. Tali nodded at that. She wanted to talk to him as well. Something that she needed to say.

"Yes, I'd like that." She told him. She looked over at the Cerberus engineers as they quickly turned back to their work as if they hadn't been eavesdropping. Worried about wandering ears, she beckoned for John to follow her, and lead him towards the drive core. She was aware that the two Cerberus engineer's eyes were following them as they went.

"I've been thinking about the last time we talked." She told him, facing him. The drive core. It was a place she always felt safe, even on the first Normandy. The first time she had been met with something other than hatred for her species. The first time she was met with a number of aliens that actually trusted her tech abilities, rather than watch her every move to make sure she wasn't doing something wrong. Even now, on a Cerberus ship working with two Cerberus engineers who did nothing but put complete faith in her. "I'm sorry. I was unprofessional, and I wasn't thinking rationally. I was being stupid. And selfish."

"You've never been selfish." Was the first thing out of his mouth at her response. Not even long enough to think of it, like it was just natural for him to tell her that. "If anything, you've spent too much time thinking of the Fleet and not enough thinking of yourself."

"That might be true for humans, but Quarians are different. We can't just….We have to think of other people. Always. If you don't think about the needs of the whole crew, people could get hurt. Maybe even killed." She paused for a moment, her throat closing as she realized what she had to say. What she had to give up right now. Sometimes, thinking of others was harder than anything in the world. "You deserve to…be happy with someone. I can't do that. No matter how much I…. I could get sick. Jeopardize the mission." His face lost its smile, the one that was always on his face. He was silent for a moment before asking:

"Are you saying you could die if we were together?"

"It's always a risk. Maybe the reaction would be minor. Maybe it would put me down for a few weeks. Or maybe it would kill me. But….That's not what I'm concerned about, Shepard. I don't want you distracted. I don't want what I want to hurt this mission. It's too important." Tali was finding it harder to keeper her voice level, to keep her throat from closing in sadness.

"And if you weren't jeopardizing anything?" John wondered, looking at her.

"If it were just me? You risked your own life to save the colonists on Feros, two years ago. Nobody else could have saved them." She had watched him take bullets that day, never even raising his gun against the colonists even when they threatened his life. "I watched your face as Sergeant Williams died on Virmire. I watched you stand strong against everything the galaxy threw at you. I've watched you for so long….and I never imagined you'd ever see past….this." She motioned to her mask, her voice threatening to fail at any moment now. John smiled, not his usual cocky smile, but a small and comforting one as he stepped forward. He took both her hands in his and stared into her eyes.

"Tali, if you're scared, I don't blame you. But I don't want anyone else. I want you. And I'll do whatever I have to to make this work." He was watching her every movement as she responded to the news.

"I….I wouldn't blame you, if….but….Oh…." She stuttered out before realizing that this was happening. She had told him he could be with anyone he wanted. He could be with Miranda with her perfect genes, or Kelly, or even Jack but he still chose her. He chose her, even with her weak immune system and her environment suit hiding everything. He had chosen her "Thank you. You don't know what that…..Thank you." Her mind and heart were racing, as if competing in a race to see who could go the fastest. She was hardly aware that she was playing with his hands, moving it between hers or just gently rubbing it. He didn't seem to mind though. "Give me a little time. I'll do some research. Figure out how to make this work."

"Do your research quickly, Miss vas Normandy. Captain's orders." John told her with a smile.

"All right. Yes. Definitely." She added the last part seductively. "Until then, I should, you know, do something. Repairs. For the mission." He watched her go as she left him in the drive core, his eyes never leaving her. She hadn't even noticed that Ken and Gabby, who were almost cheek to cheek as they both were craning to hear into the drive core better, jumping and pretending to work as she came back down into the main work space. John came by a moment later, stopping for a second as if to inspect the two.

"You can collect your betting money later Donnelly, during break." He told him, noticing the rather taunting email that Ken was about to send to Hawthorne before leaving out the door on their side. Tali didn't even care there was a betting pool, bouncing on her heels more fiercely than she had been doing the first time they had talked. As she sat there, desperately trying to get back to work only to be distracted by her jubilant thoughts once more, a certain song came to mind. Under her breath, just low enough so that the two Engineers who were watching her joy very closely couldn't hear, she sang:

_Let the moon's shining light hide two lovers with its rays_

_Though I know that dawn will set us on course for separate ways_

_I will hold this night in memory for all my living days_

_Now unmasked, I feel your skin on miiiiine._

* * *

**So, I recently bought the Citadel DLC online and it...was...amazing. So yeah, I figured that this song was appropriate for Tali to sing since she has memorized the lyrics since adolescence. I added some more dialogue to the Garrus scene as well, because all of Femsheps conversations, she comes off as sultry more than anything. To me anyways. It may just be a personal opinion. But yeah. Well, see you later.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Heyo! Good to see y'all again. Got another update here for you and an early one to boot. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

"Your hair looks very….hairy." Garrus greeted Johanna as they waited for the airlock to pressurize to the outside air. Johanna smiled underneath her breather helm. His awkward behavior was oddly charming. "That was stupid wasn't it?"

"Typically a girl doesn't like being called hairy but I applaud the attempt." Johanna told him.

"What's this about?" John asked, eyeing the two before him with suspicion. Garrus looked away awkwardly but Johanna shrugged.

"Garrus is trying to charm me with his wily ways." She told him. John narrowed his eyes as if he couldn't decide whether Johanna was pulling his leg or not. As he struggled with his decision, Johanna noticed that Tali was standing closer to her brother than normal, bouncing on her heels with unnaturally happiness considering their current situation. Everybody's personal business was squared away, Jacob's being last and one of the more disturbing missions, leading them to derelict Reaper they all dreaded. But still, everyone was there now, the mission being the only thing on their mind. Each had their own modifications to their armor post mission to, finally realizing the finality behind what might happen unless they focused purely on the mission. Zaeed had gone through some old contacts and got himself a brand new Inferno Armor, Samara had traded her red outfit for a black outfit with a denser weave, and Mordin made slight modifications to his armor that involved a first aid interface. Jack was even talking about adopting a full on biker look, with the glasses to complete it.

"We'll have to talk later." John promised, casting an eye over them both before returning to his position rather close to Tali. Garrus's eyes lit up with knowledge and slight bit of humor.

"You don't think….." He began to ask, interrupted when the sound of the airlock opening interrupted him.

"No, I don't think. I know." Was Johanna's response. The team emerged into the lab first, set up in the first part of the ship. It was barren and cold, nothing in the room suggesting where the scientists are gone. No bullet holes, no destroyed lab equipment.

"Smells bad. There's blood, but something's wrong with it." Grunt mentioned as he was the first to step out, Claymore shotgun at the ready for any enemies.

"Kasumi, Johanna. Get me all the files Cerberus got on this place. The rest of you, let's make sure this place is secured." John ordered. They separated, guns in front and looking around every corner as Johanna and Kasumi quickly hacked into Cerberus systems.

"Five minutes, twenty-three seconds." Kasumi quickly told Johanna as they easily broke past the firewalls. Johanna smiled, glad the time between the thief's hacks were slowly raising. The last time had been just over four minutes. Soon, Kasumi would have to admit Johanna was getting better and she would be sure to record the whole thing.

* * *

The entire ship shook the moment the second airlock finished decompressurizing to the exterior atmospheres, almost sending the ground team to the floor. "Normandy to shore party!" Joker's panicked voice called over John's radio.

"What just happened?" John asked, looking around at his team to make sure that they were okay. Other than Kasumi brushing off some dirt that had fallen on her outfit, the entire team seemed fine.

"The Reaper just put up kinetic barriers. I don't think we can get through from our side." Joker told him. John sighed and resisted the urge to curse. It was his luck of course, that he would get trapped on a Reaper, of all things. He just wished that for once, one of these missions can go off without a hitch, or an army trying to kill him.

"As curious as I am about the Reapers, I'd rather not be trapped inside one." Tali commented upon hearing this. Johanna stepped forward, hacking the communications on John's transponder so that she could talk as well.

"Garrus and I put some serious tech into those guns. Use them." Johanna suggested, not liking the idea of being aboard the Reaper a moment longer than she had to be. She'd heard the numerous reports from John's hunt for Saren, the way Reapers got into your mind and warped your way of thinking. How they toyed with your thoughts and your emotions, made you think they were right. If she wanted to think something was right, she would prefer if she reached the conclusion without the help of a massive synthetic lifeform.

"The Normandy lacks the necessary firepower. Reaper shields are impervious to dreadnaught fire." EDI told Johanna. Johanna muttered something underneath her breath about an AI know-it-all but remained silent as the computer continued. "Shepard, a kinetic barrier can only be produced by a mass effect generator. That is true for any ship, even a Reaper. At the moment of activation, I detected a heat spike in what is likely the wreck's mass effect core. Sending the coordinates now." John's omni-tool beeped as he received the coordinates. 'Be advised: this core is also maintained the Reaper's altitude."

"So when we take the barriers down to escape, the wreck falls into the planet core." John said what she didn't.

"And that means everyone dies. Yeah, I got it." Joker dismally finished John's sentence.

"If any helmsman can pull us off this thing before it reaches crush depth, it's you." John told him, easing the worries the pilot had. "We'll make a sweep for survivors and recover what data we can. Stand by."

"Aye. Aye. Good hunting." John nodded and held his shotgun out in front of him as the airlock revealed the Reaper's interior. The very sight seemed omnious. Large thick electrical cables coated the walls and gave the entire area a bluish tint to the insides. On the catwalk in front of them, two severely burnt corpses were twisted and mangled, hanging near the sides of the catwalk. He felt the unease of his entire squad at the interior, though he was sure that most of them would never admit it.

"What a mess. Anyone else hungry?" Grunt wondered as they began to go forward. A few of the squadmates let out groans of disgust at the Krogan's questionable appetite before falling in line. Grunt, Tali, Jacob, Jack and John were taking point, shotguns straight and each programmed to use special ammo. Miranda, Kasumi, Mordin, and Samara were behind them, submachineguns at the ready, while the rest of the squad held back a little more, snipers or long ranged firepower out. Garrus had a rocket launcher on his back, given to him by John who stated that he can't be the only one carrying heavy weapons in case something were to happen to him. Johanna and Grunt were the others he gave the weapons too, Johanna getting a grenade launcher while Grunt was given the Collector Particle beam, John knowing better than to trust the trigger happy Krogan with the Cain. Still, he hadn't parted with the Particle Beam easily.

They continued forward, uninterrupted until they reached the area with the crates. The first one to notice was Grunt, his battle prowess only increasing by the day since his Proving. Soon, it would rival even his battlemaster. No sooner had Grunt sent the first husk flying back over the railings, did two more emerge. A whole wave of husks surged from underneath the catwalks, charging towards the squad with little worry for their own life. The first line kept them at bay though, cranking round after round from their shotguns into the crowd while the two lines behind them mowed them down with heavy fire. "There are high pressure tanks by the husks! Do you want me to blow them up?" Tali suggested, sending Chitikka at the horde before them.

"Do it!" John told her, using his biotics to cut a swath in the husks to give her a clear enough shot. She shot her gun, landing a direct hit on the crate with the explosive materials. The crate exploded with a massive bang, sending half of the remaining husks flying through the air. The rest of the husks fell to the floor underneath the fire of the rest of the squad.

"That was a lot of husks." Garrus commented, lowering his sniper as he realized that the rest of the husks were done for, nothing but a smoking heap on the ground.

"The science team was massive. The Illusive Man dedicated a lot of resources to studying the reaper. If all of them were turned into husks….." Miranda began, reloading her Tempest.

"Then we are looking at an army of these monsters." Jacob finished, cranking a new thermal clip into his shotgun as well. The husk attack had taken a toll on their ammo conserves, lowering most of them down to at least half of their thermal clips. Taking a small amount of time to level out the ammo for each person, John continued forward. The moment they went up an uphill slope, the tell-tale sound of sniper fire sounded, sending two husks from the hallway they were about to enter onto the floor.

"Another survivor?" Tali wondered as they eased around the corner.

"No, those were expert shots. Precise, straight through the center of the head. I doubt someone who's been in this hell will be making such a precise shots any time soon." Garrus shot that idea down, leaning down near the dead husks. "This is a shot for the pros."

"Getting worried you'll get showed up?" Johanna asked suggestively. Garrus laughed cockily to himself for a moment.

"You do know who you're talking to?" He bragged, touching a hand to his chest as if insulted she thought someone was better than him.

"Please, I can outshoot you any day of the week." Johanna laughed, priming her sniper for the next battle. Garrus got close to her, looking down on her with the Turian equivalent of a cocky smirk.

"Care to bet on that?" He asked. John cleared his throat before Johanna answered, drawing their attention to the mission again.

"What kind of bet we talking here, Mr. Vakarian?" Johanna asked, suggestively.

"Guys, we are on a Reaper that is trying to kill us. Can we stow….this until we get back on the Normandy?" John told them, staring at Garrus with a hard glare. They nodded and the ground team continued on with the mission, bantering in a whisper form as they went, making bets and challenging each other until they got into the next room. Instantly, husks began to swarm once more, surging over the sides of the catwalk from underneath, and into their deaths at the hands of the squad before them. In fact, their formation was working smoothly until her heard Tali yell:

"Scion!" She pushed him to the side, just narrowly getting him out of the way of the wave like shot that would have surely decimated his shields. Grunt took the brunt of the impact, but unlike John, who would have surely been knocked to his feet by the blast, Grunt let out a primordial roar and charged forward, slamming his massive krogan frame into the Scion, sending him to the floor. Then, using his claymore, he emptied a thermal clip into the deformed husk, causing a fountain of blue blood and dehydrated flesh to coat the krogan. With the Scion gone, the rest of the husks fell easily, the Abominations kept at bay by the snipers and putting holes in their charging lines.

"Thanks Tali, that wouldn't have felt pleasant." John thanked the Quarian. She nodded and aimed her shotgun forward, blasting the last husk as it rushed towards them. With the husks done for, and the room clear for the moment, John noticed the Dragon's teeth in front of the catwalk.

"We've seen these before, John. Dragon's teeth, your people called them. The geth used them on Eden Prime." Tali commented looking at the omnious spikes as they impaled the remainder of the science team. The process had just started, their skin still normal and little to no tech visible in their skin. John looked around, taking note of the room they were in.

"See how the room is arranged, big things off to the side and a direct and clear path to this? They treated the thing like some kind of alter." John noted, pointing out the small things that led him to the conclusion.

"That doesn't seem right. No one in their right mind would want this." Tali commented, looking around as well.

"You heard the logs. They were seeing things. Hearing things. They were being indoctrinated." John sighed sadly as he looked at the impaled scientists. "We can't help these people now. But we won't let the machines use their corpses like this."

"No point in belly aching about it. Let's kick some Reaper ass then." Zaeed commented from where he stood. John nodded in agreement, and motioned for them to continue on, while staying behind. He downloaded more of the research data from a nearby terminal, uploading everything onto his omni-tool. He may not agree with the Illusive Man's methods or anything he said, but his research into the Reapers would be invaluable in the coming months. Then, he followed his team into the next room. Another airlock, like the two before hand but this one did not take nearly as long as the others. John exited the airlock, his team rushing out and securing the area. John took this chance to look around, seeing which route was the most direct from where they were. From where he stood, it look as though only one accessible route would take him where he needed to go. He was about to relay this to his team when he heard the sniper fire and felt the searing hot bullet fly past his head.

Before he could respond, two more shots sounded, slamming into something behind him. He turned and watched as the final husk fell before his feet, only an inch from hitting him. He turned to face his unknown savior, only to witness something he'd never thought he'd see. A geth stood from an upper catwalk, raising a Black Widow rifle into the air as it's flashlight like head looked at John. Then, saying loud enough for them all to hear, it said: "Shepard-Commander." Without any more words or other surprising turns, the geth turned away from them and walked off. The entire squad stood there in shock for a moment, unsure what had just happened.

"Geth talk? Since it knows you, tell it I don't need its help." Grunt complained, who had been the closest to John.

"It shouldn't be able to talk. A single geth has no more intelligence than a single varren." Tali informed, her body language clearly stating she was as confused as the rest of them. And she was supposed to be their geth expert.

"Well, it didn't shoot us. That's a first." Garrus commented, looking at where the Geth had been stationed, looking at the catwalk with analytical eyes. "Judging by its perch, it had a clear shot on us since we entered. So….friendly geth?" As curious as John was about this geth, he knew that standing around on a derelict reaper was not the best conversation spot.

"We'll discuss this later." John told them and ordered them back into formation. This day was getting better and better. "Let's focus on killing a Reaper from the inside out."

* * *

**You got to love Grunt, in his gross and odd way. I figured it was about time I start outlining the missions a little more that I have been. Still, this was still a odd job for me, but I felt the need, so I apologize if its not a decent as the rest of the chapters. I have put a lot of effort into the Suicide Mission and I'm fairly confident that will be a mission you'll enjoy reading. Also, I figure John for a protective brother, so a talk with him and Garrus will come later. Mwahahaha! Well, see y'all later.**


	17. Chapter 17

**So, we're back again where I left off. I would have continued the Reaper mission a little more but there wasn't much beyond the point I stopped besides running and gunning. (I know there is Legion getting knocked unconscious but that's a minor thing to write a whole chapter for.) So I just skipped to after the mission. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

"I think we need to discuss the unique piece of salvage we've recovered. For now, we stored it in EDI's AI core." Miranda stated as they gathered around the table. The door to the conference room opened, giving way to Tali as she entered the room.

"We need to space it. The longer its on board, the more likely the chance it can take over the system." Tali told them. Miranda narrowed her eyes at Tali's appearance, putting a hand on her hip and sending her a glare.

"This is a meeting between officers." Miranda stated, looking at the Quarian with a hint of jealousy. The recent rumors that she had been hearing had not been good for her, stating that John had more than a professional interest in the Quarian. It was no secret she was infatuated with him, she'd read Kelly's report on her psych profile, but the rumor that she was with John hit her the wrong way.

"Tali's head of Engineering and she's also our expert on Geth. She has every right to be in this meeting so I asked her to come." John told the Cerberus loyalist. She nodded but her lips pursed and she gave a less than forgiving glare towards Tali. "Truth be told, Mordin should be here too but when I tried to tell him, we ended up talking about relationships and mood music, and then he studied cell reproduction."

"Very well, but I disagree. We need better equipment to fight the Reapers. An intact geth would be invaluable to Cerberus' cyberweapons division." Miranda argued, looking at John. Jacob scoffed and stepped forward, leaning on the table with a serious look towards Miranda.

"I'll have to agree with Tali on this one, ma'am. I saw enough of these things on Eden Prime. Space it." Jacob gave his opinion. John nodded, taking in account the three opinions in the room. He was almost disappointed in the lack of interest in the fact that not only was this geth capable of speech, but also took the time to save him from an ambush rather than being the cause.

"Cerberus has a long-standing cash bounty for an intact geth, I assure you, the reward is significant." Miranda baited, looking towards John with hopeful eyes. She apparently thought money would sway him at this point.

"John, having an intact geth is extremely dangerous. My father learned that." Tali paused for a moment as if she regretted saying it but continued nonetheless. "We can't trust in the hands of a group like Cerberus."

"This group has funded this project from day one, Cerberus is entitled to any salvage we pick up." Miranda argued, stepping forward.

"So long as I confirm it." John reminded, remembering the guidelines the Illusive Man had promised him. " But I'm curious why it has a piece of N7 armor strapped to it."

"War trophy maybe. Would a machine care about that?" Jacob offered his opinion.

"No. Trophies imply emotions that AIs don't have. I doubt it's more than a convenient field repair." Tali told him, looking at the hologram of the geth on the conference table. Miranda's lips pursed a little more, having planned on saying almost the exact same thing. John nodded, realizing this was probably true. But he couldn't shake the feeling that the armor was oddly familiar.

"I've killed hundreds of these things, but I've never had a chance to talk to one." John mentioned, remembering how the Geth had spoken to him. Of all the geth he had killed, this was the only that had gave him something other than a jumbled assortment of numbers that went so fast it didn't sound like much beyond a nonsensical roar. "This one tried to communicate with us. Hell it probably saved our lives. Why?"

"Reactivating the Geth is a risk. If you do so, it should be for humanity's best interests and not your curiosity." Miranda told him.

"I still think our 'best interest' lies with an airlock." Jacob mentioned, staring at the Commander. John rubbed his chin as he thought about it. It was true that if this Geth turned out to be hostile, then reactivating it could end their mission prematurely. It could get into the Normandy's systems and leave them dead in space. But, he didn't want to risk destroying the only geth that had ever shown him kindness. What if he was wrong about the geth being hostile and killed it for no reason? Handing the synthetic over to Cerberus wasn't even an option. He knew the Illusive Man would reprogram the geth to serve his own needs.

"I'm not deciding one way or the other until I know what we've got here. I want to start it up. Interrogate it." John told them. He immediately knew that everyone in the room was unhappy with his decision.

"If we activate it, there is no guarantee we can deactivate it again." Miranda protested, while Tali rubbed her mask in irritation.

"Bullets can." Jacob pointed out calmly.

"That's not what I….." Miranda immediately began to retort.

"Thank you—both you you—for you recommendations. I've made my decision." John cut off the argument before it began. He turned his attention to Tali, with a look that promised he would discuss this later with her. Jacob sighed and pulled up his omni-tool bringing up a hologram of the very small IFF that they had gotten. Hundreds of people had died, just to get something that could fit in his pockets.

"So, what about this Reaper IFF?" Jacob wondered. This time, EDI was happy to intervene.

"I have determined how to intergrate it with our systems. However, the device is Reaper technology. Linking it with the Normandy poses certain…risks." EDI informed them.

"I trust you EDI. I know you won't let anything happen to the ship." John told her.

"Understood, Shepard. It may take several hours before the IFF is ready for shakedown. I will alert you as soon as it is ready." EDI promised before her avatar disappeared. John nodded.

"Sounds good. Until then it's business as usual. Crew dismissed." John told the two Cerberus crew members, hoping that Tali would stick around. His worry was only a moment old before it died, as the Quarian made no move to leave as the other two officers headed towards the door. Miranda paused for a moment at the door as she realized this, but she bit her lip and said nothing.

"You know, sometimes I wonder what goes through that head of yours." Tali mentioned once they were gone, turning around and leaning against the table as she stared at him. John smiled and walked over to her, leaning on the table near her.

"Someone once said that there is a fine line between genius and insanity." John told her. "I'd like to think I've stepped over the line once or twice."

"I still don't think that activating a geth is a good idea…but I'm going to trust whatever string of thought that made you think that." Tali told him. "Still, I want to be there when you activate it. Just in case."

"No one I would rather watch my back. Come on, let's go talk to that geth."

* * *

"Be ready. I'm activating it." Shepard warned Tali as he opened his omni-tool. Tali nodded and readied her shotgun, watching the geth with caution.

"I have isolated our systems and erected additional firewalls. I am prepared to resist any hacking attempt." EDI told them over the intercom. John nodded and began to send power to the geth, the hole in the geth's side sparking and pulsing. It wasn't long before the head lit up, the single ocular light adjusting and swiveling about as it took in its surroundings. It spotted John before long, turning and standing up as he say him. Tali gripped her shotgun tighter but did not raise it.

"Can you understand me?" John asked, looking over the geth. If it had no more intelligence than a varren, it shouldn't understand what he was saying.

"Yes." The geth responded, looking towards Tali for a moment before turning its attention back to John.

"Are you going to attack me?" It would have been pointless if it was planning on it. It's weapons had been taken from it, put into the Normandy's armory until further notice. If anything, the weapons would have provided an excellent study material for Jacob to improve their current weaponry.

"No." John rubbed his chin in thought. So the Geth wasn't going to attack him and it clearly was smarter than the average geth. He could feel Tali's confusion behind him as she mulled over these thoughts as well.

"You said my name aboard the Reaper. Do I know you?" John asked.

"We know of you." The Geth responded.  
"Geth have a network intelligence. Since you met the ones against Saren, technically, you have met them all." Tali explained, not taking her eyes off of Legion.

"We have never met." The Geth corrected her.

"No, you haven't, but I've met other geth." John offered.

"We are all geth, and we have never met." The Geth corrected again. "You are Shepard. Commander. Alliance. Human. Fought Heretics. Killed by Collectors. Rediscovered on the Old Machine." The list was obvious. It was saying that they knew who he was, but face-to-face contact had never been achieved. It was true that only the geth that John had ever gotten this close to had met their fate at the end of his shotgun or by his powerful biotics. And the Old Machine was clearly referring to the Reapers, who the Geth revered and worshiped.

"What do you mean, 'heretics'?" John asked, curious on what he meant.

"Geth build our own future. The heretics asked the Old Machines to give them future. They are no longer part of us. We were studying the Old Machine's hardware to protect our future." The Geth explained.

"The geth are separated into factions?" John wondered, looking back to Tali.

"No, that can't be right. The geth were all programmed the same. It doesn't make sense they would end up separate factions." Tali shook her head.

"This occurred after the Creators were drove from Rannoch. You would have no knowledge." The geth told her, looking towards her. "We are geth. We build our own future. They are heretics. They accept the Old Machines gifts. They are no longer part of us." John finally understood what it meant by saying they had never met. He had met the faction of Heretics, but not the geth themselves.

"Are the Reapers a threat to you too?" John asked, wondering if this geth was saying what he thought it was.

"Why would they attack other machines?" Tali spoke, her shotgun lower than it had been before and her voice full of curiosity.

"We are different from them. Outside their plans." The Geth answered. John looked at the geth.

"What future are you building?"

"Ours."

"Will anyone else be affected by whatever it is you're doing?" This was the big question. If the geth's idea of a future involved the ending of others, this would end their conversation here and there.

"If they involved themselves, they will." It wasn't a threat, like John or Tali had expected but more like an offer. He looked at Tali, who stared back for a long moment. She was going to hate him for what he was planning but…

"So, you aren't allied with the Reapers?" John asked, stepping up to the shield that the Geth was behind.

"We oppose the heretics. We oppose the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the Old Machine. Shepard-Commander opposed the heretics. Cooperation further mutual goals." The geth told him.

"Is it asking to join us?" Tali questioned, bewildered as she finally caught on to what the geth had been suggesting.

"Yes." Here was the part Tali wouldn't like. John raised his omni-tool and deactivated the shield separating him and the Geth. Tali responded by raising her shotgun and leveling it on the geth. John pushed her shotgun to the side before she had the chance to fire.

"We mean you no harm." The Geth promised, unaffected by the near death experience it just had.

"It's okay Tali. I trust him." John told her, staring into her luminescent eyes. She was silent for a good moment before collapsing her shotgun and putting it on her back.

"You trust _it_." She corrected but said nothing more. John nodded, knowing this was a conversation that they would have to have later, like many of what was happening today. And definitely not in front of the geth in question.

"Then what should I call you?" The Commander wondered, looking back to the geth.

"Geth." It responded.

"I mean you, specifically." John asked, motioning towards him. He was aware that the Geth mimicked his movements, but said nothing of it. It was probably taking note of every movement he made, marking in his notes on organics.

"We are all geth." John bit the inside of his cheek as he realized that he would have to be even more specific.

"What is the individual in front of me called?"

"There is no individual. We are geth. There are currently 1,183 programs active within this platform." The Geth told him. John paused for a moment as he realized what this meant. He was no expert on the Geth, but he knew that that meant he was technically staring at over a 1,000 geth compressed into a single platform. He hadn't faced that many geth in combat.

"'My name is Legion, for we are many.'" EDI suggested, her avatar popping up beside Tali.

"That seems… appropriate." Tali commented, her voice strained to keep nice with Legion.

"Christian Bible, the Gospel of Mark, chapter five, verse nine. We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion, a terminal of the Geth. We will integrate into the Normandy." John smiled and extended a hand to mark their allegiance. Legion copied his moments, but didn't take his hand, causing John to stare uncomfortably at Legion before taking the lead himself. "Shepard-Commander. We have completed our analysis of the Reaper's data core. We wish to request a favor."

* * *

Johanna looked up as her brother entered the room, looking around for her Turian companion. She was where Garrus normally was, optimizing firing algorithms while the Turian went to the cargo bay to find some extra part. "Yes?" Johanna wondered, looking at her brother with the most innocent look she could manage. Her brother didn't say nothing, simply looking around for Garrus before giving up.

"So, you and Garrus?" John wondered aloud.

"So, you and Tali?" Johanna responded in kind. She went back to typing the algorithms, following the specific instruction Garrus had given her. The Turian did care a lot for his algorithms.

"I just want to talk to him." John promised.

"And I just want to talk to her." Johanna replied. Her brother's expression hardened as she realized what his sister was doing. It always got on his nerves when she copied him, ever since they were kids.

"Look, I don't care who you date. I just have to set down a few guidelines to warn Garrus of what will happen if he…." John began.

"What? breaks my heart? Makes me run crying into my bed? Stands me up for a date? Have you met me John?" Johanna interrupted. "Besides, Garrus is an awkward sweetheart even if he doesn't show it. I doubt he'd break your guidelines even if you didn't warn him."

"I don't mean to seem like the overprotective brother but…." John paused for a moment as he sighed and leaned against the nearby wall. "What kind of brother would I be if I didn't strike fear into the heart of my sister's boyfriend? Especially if that boyfriend is my best friend."

"Are you jealous I stole him from you?" Johanna teased, laughing at the implication she had just stated. John laughed with her and shook his head.

"No, not Garrus. Besides, I'm in love with a different Dextro." John told her. Johanna sighed and rubbed her head. She was silent for a moment before she looked at her brother.

"Do you think….." She paused for a moment, gathering her courage before continuing. "….Do you think that we should do this? Do they really deserve our burdens and worries on top of theirs? What if this ends in a shitstorm….like everything else." Johanna asked. It was one of the worst parts about being a Shepard. The family rarely dealt with normal problems. The galaxy was looking towards them to single-handedly saved it from a sentient race of dark machines that were technologically superior to them in every way. John let out a sarcastic laugh at this, having already considered this.

"No, no one deserves that. We're shouldering the burden so the rest of the galaxy can walk free." John told her. Johanna nodded grimly. "But if they are willing, then there's no reason to refuse their help. Tali….Tali is an amazing person. She deserves better than what she's gotten but she refuses to leave my side, helping carry my burden. The same goes for Garrus. They've been there since the beginning and have always trusted me. And…." John looked up, staring his sister deep into her eyes before continuing. "I don't think I would have made it this far without them. And this might sound like the most selfish thing I ever said, but I want them by my side no matter what." Johanna nodded in agreement.

"So, is it true we have a Geth on board?"

* * *

**And so we reach the end of yet another chapter. Legion has been recruited and so on. I placed Tali in this chapter because she fits the role better than those that were there canonly. I mean, they are talking about whether keeping a geth is a good idea or not but Tali isn't there? Jacob even mentions how she's going to react to the news. So, I offered my own solution and put her in anyways. Also, the guard in the AI core disappeared the moment you activated Legion, leaving my unarmed Shepard against a geth. Probably went off to get something to eat that lazy bastard. Well, that's about all I got to explain, see y'all later.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello! Welcome to the Café du Story, we have a beautiful new chapter waiting to be served at a discount! Read, Enjoy, Review.**

"Uh, Commander, Tali just went to have a 'chat' with Legion. You better get down to the AI core." Joker sounded over the intercom as John Shepard walked through the mess hall. John sighed and shook his head, knowing this was going to come sooner or later. Tali hadn't been happy with the rewriting of the Geth Heretics and the growing anxiety of the suicide mission had everyone on edge. He had broken up arguments between Cerberus crew more than once. Truthfully, he had expected Miranda and Jack try to kill each other before Tali and Legion, the two seeming capable of at least hating each other without endangering the ship.

"I'm on it Joker." John sighed and rushed into the AI core. When he entered, he found Tali holding Legion at gunpoint, her aim true to his central processor. One shot and the geth would be deactivated permanently. Legion looked John, his emotionless face making it hard to read what the Geth wanted.

"John. I'm glad you're here. I caught Legion scanning my omni-tool. It was going to send data about the Flotilla back to the geth!" Tali immediately greeted seeing John enter the core.

"Creators performed weapon tests and were discussing plans to attack us. We believed it necessary to warn our people." Legion defended himself. John grimly sighed, remembering the experiments that Rael'Zorah had performed, the ones that had cost a ship full of Quarians their lives.

"We've already made the geth stronger by rewriting the ones that worshipped the Reapers! I won't let Legion endanger the Fleet by giving them more information!" Tali barked back, one of her three fingers hovering an inch above the trigger of her gun.

"Creator Tali'Zorah acts out of loyalty to her people. She was willing to be exiled to protect them. We must also protect our people from the Creator threat." Legion reasoned.

"You can't let this happen, John! I trusted you, and I worked with a geth on the team, but this is too much!" Tali complained. John took a deep breath as he realized this would probably have happened soon or later. It was better now, than during a fight with the Collectors or another high stakes missions.

"Tali, your father was running brutal experiments. If the subjects had been human, I'd damn well be telling the Alliance about it." John told her. She looked at him, her eyes clearly full of pleading.

"I know. But if the geth find out…." She began to protest.

"They'd attack." He finished her sentence. He turned towards Legion. "Which would cause a war that would leave both the geth and the Quarians vulnerable when the Reapers show up. Is that what you want, Legion?"

"We believed it was necessary to relay the information." He tried to excuse himself.

"Sooner or later, you're both going to have to stop fighting this ridiculous war. Or the whole galaxy will end up paying for it." A silence fell over both as they took in what John had just said. Tali's grip on her gun slackened a little and if it was possible for a geth to look chastened, Legion would be the prime example.

"To facilitate unit cohesion, we will not transmit data regarding Creator plans." Legion finally spoke. Tali lowered her gun and relaxed, realizing that the danger to her fleet was over.

"Thank you, Legion. I….understand you intention. What if I gave you some non-classified data to send?" Tali told him. Being nice to the geth didn't seem as forced as it had been before but a hint of strain was still present.

"We would be grateful." Legion told her. Tali nodded and opened her omni-tool, probably picking non-essential things for Legion to send while the synthetic patiently waited. John smiled as he realized that this issue was over, waiting until Tali had finished and given what data she dared to Legion. The Admirals wouldn't appreciate this if they had known about it but John couldn't be happier that the two were finally working together.

"EDI, how long until the Reaper IFF is installed?" John asked out loud.

"The Device is powered but it is causing some unusual instability in other systems. I recommend a more thorough analysis before we attempt to use it. The time estimate is inconclusive. I recommend taking that shuttle on the next mission." EDI told him. John nodded and looked at the two before him.

"Looks like some shore leave is in order."

* * *

They arrived at the Citadel only an hour later, the crew parting as they arrived. Samara, Legion and Thane ventured off to observe the crowds, Jacob went into the nearest café, casting a look towards Miranda before continuing, and the rest of the crew separating for their own personal agendas, leaving only Miranda, Tali, Garrus, John and Johanna standing there by the shuttle, staring at each other with expectancy. Miranda spoke first, stepping up towards John and folding her arms under her chest. Johanna rolled her eyes at the attempt for the woman to make her endowments seem even bigger while Tali glared beneath her mask at her. "John…" John frowned at the use of his first name by the woman but didn't say anything about it. She was entitled to use, but he didn't have to like it. "…I was wondering if you would like to join me in the Presidium for lunch?"

"Sorry Miranda, I already have plans with Tali." John told her in a heartbeat, nodding his apology. Her face went blank and she dropped her arms to her side as she faced the man before her with a neutral expression.

"Of course, Commander. If you need me, I'll be in the Presidium." Miranda turned and left the group, passing Tali on the way. And Miranda could swear that beneath the mask, Tali was smiling triumphantly as the Cerberus loyalist left, walking over to John and standing beside him as she walked away. Johanna was almost bursting out in a mocking grin at Miranda being stood down. She never liked the self-appointed XO or the distrust she showed everyone that wasn't a human. To Johanna, aliens and humans died if you shot them, it's hard to care much past that.

"Well, Darkstar lounge awaits." John suggested. Johanna chuckled and shook her head.

"Actually, I want to stop by a shop before then. Tali, care to join me while the boys go to the club?" Johanna suggested. Tali nodded and walked over to where Johanna standing. "See you guys later." With that her and Tali left the two by the shuttle. They walked for a while, Johanna taking the quickest routes she could to get to the shop in question. It was a tech shop down on the lower wards that sold less than legal stuff. Her tactical cloak had become outdated and she wanted to get the parts to modify it.

"So, it occurs to me that I was a "bitch" when Kasumi and I stalked you in the drive core." Johanna used air quotes around the word bitch as if she didn't really believe it. Tali wrung her hands together as she remembered when the two had ambushed her. "Anyways, I figured I should apologize for my behavior. So, sorry I stalked you then laughed. But you have to admit, looking back on it now, it's pretty hilarious."

"It's alright, really. I didn't mind much." Tali told her.

"Yeah you did. You guys jumped me suddenly about Garrus and I wanted to squirm out of my suit. I just had the advantage of a tactical cloak." She told Tali. "But hey, I can safely tell you that I told you so. Besides, I wouldn't have teased you unless I knew it would work out." Tali smiled beneath her helmet and nodded. She had told her that John was interested in her, in her own, strange way. They walked in silence after that, making idle conversation as they went. The sights of the wards, the various species dashing about, and etc. Until they arrived at the tech shop. "Go ahead and look around for anything you want. My stuff's in the back." She told the Quarian leaving her at the front of the store. She quickly found a power core that had a few seconds on her cloak and then a cooling chip, something all cloaks had to prevent the infiltrator from being burned from extended use. The longer the cloak was active, the hotter it got, known to leave a brand like mark. Definitely not the most flattering of things. She grabbed these things and made her way back to the front of the store. Only to be greeted to the sight of the human shopkeeper hassling Tali.

"Ma'am I need you to empty your pockets." He told her, blocking her escape out of an aisle. Johanna clenched her teeth and pulled her omni-tool up, listening to the conversation as from where she stood. The longer she listened, the worse her intent got.

"What? Why?" Tali complained. Judging by the lack of surprise in her voice, this wasn't the first time she had been hassled.

"Please, your kind have been in here before. Every time, something goes missing. You Quarian vagrants think you're entitled to anything you want." The shopkeeper. Johanna scanned expense report after expense report looking for any flaw.

"Not all Quarians are thieves. And we're not vagrants. We're on our pilgrimage, a sacred tradition…." Tali began, practically shouting at the man. Johanna smiled as she began to notice a slight trend in the expense reports that was very subtle.  
"Take your traditions and cram them. Either you empty your pockets of everything you stole and leave or I call C-Sec and you spend the next galactic year in prison." The shopkeeper told Tali, his voice wreathed with hate.

"I didn't steal anything!" Tali protested. Johanna smiled became wicked as she found the evidence she had been looking for.

"Have it your way." The shopkeeper growled, opening his omni-tool and dialing C-Sec's number. "C-Sec I have a….." Suddenly his omni-tool shorted out, causing the holographic display to whiz out before closing altogether. Johanna walked forward, pocketing the frequency amplifier she had picked up. "Hey! You have to pay for that!"

"You know, you're pretty clever. You're patient and you not too greedy. A good combination." Johanna told him, ignoring his protest as he walked. "For a thief." He froze, his next yell caught in his throat as he realized what this woman knew. "A couple of hundred credits shaved off each expense report, marking things down by a few credits so the numbers add up. It's not bad. Before long, you sitting on your own little fortune and the owners of the shop were none the wiser. It allowed you to purchase stock in the slave trade and even afford the Asari mistress you meet every three days for another embrace of eternity. I admire people with patience in crime."

"I don't know…." The man started to say but Johanna shot him a look so vicious that he froze again. Even Tali was growing weary of Johanna, stepping away from the shopkeeper as if he was glowing with radiation.

"I, however, despise someone who harasses my friends and accuses them of a crime based on who they are. So, here's what's going to happen." Johanna told her. "I will be taking whatever I want from this store and if you some much as open your mouth, I will send this compiled list of evidence to your bosses, to C-Sec and to your wife. And trust me, if you think a raging Alliance marine is something to be scared of, remember that she knows how to kill you in a hundred ways and I can cover up everyone one of them and I would gladly do it." The man's mouth was firmly clamped shut, his jaw muscles bulging as his teeth pressed against each other as fiercely as they could. "Good." With that, she went about ransacking the store. What she didn't take, she knocked casually onto the floor, some of it smashing as it connected with the ground, other stuff just bouncing and rolling away. Even Tali was silent the whole time, not sure what she should be thinking right now.

By the time Johanna was done, the store was a wreck, most of the valuables on the floor and broken while the ones that weren't were safely in Johanna's possession. She nodded to the man and waved for Tali to follow as she left for the store, the Quarian hesitating before following. "Got you this." Johanna commented as Tali caught up with her, holding up a omni-tool upgrade. "I'll have to make some adustments to suit Quarian physiology but otherwise, it's good to go. Most advanced model. Available to the legal market anyways."

"No….thank you….I don't…" Tali tried to get out, sounding nice as possible.

"No worries, you didn't steal it, I did. Your family now and no one messes with my family." She told Tali, looking at her. Tali paused for a moment, realizing what Johanna had just told her. Johanna turned back to her omni-tool, looking at her compiled evidence against the man. "Oh, what the hell." She said then hit the send button and closed her omni-tool. "I hate cheating Slave traders anyways."

* * *

John and Garrus stared silently at each other, their drinks in front of them, but untouched, still as full as they had been a moment ago. John had his arms crossed and was staring at him while Garrus had set one arm lazily on the bar and was doing the same. It was another few moments before John finally broke the silence. "So, you and my sister?"

"You and Tali?" Garrus repeated. His mind flashed to the conversation he just had with his sister and shook his head with amusement. "Tali's like a sister to me you know. An annoying but lovable, shotgun totting sister."

"And Johanna is my sister." John replied in kind. "So, I'm going to have to set down some ground rules."

"And so do I." Garrus told him.

"Rule one: You break her heart, I'll break you. After she's done hurting you. Rule two: Don't play with her emotions. She's not someone to be stringed along. Rule three: I don't want to hear anything about your…bedroom antics." Garrus gave him an odd look. "Just watch Johanna and make sure she doesn't do anything that will tell me." John clarified.

"Well, I did have a list for you but yours is shorter so…..same goes for you." Garrus told him. They both nodded and grabbed their drinks.

"To the women that are crazy enough to be with us….." John started.

"May they stay forever." Garrus finished and they both slammed down their drink. Then they both laughed and waved the Turian barkeeper for another round. They were silent for a long moment, staring at the bartender as he refilled their drinks and walked off to fulfill another order. "You know, eventually all this will have to end. The Collectors, the Reapers, us saving the galaxy." Garrus finally spoke, sipping at his drink. "What do you plan to do? After it all."

"Assuming we're still here, right?" John told him with a smile. Garrus laughed but half-heartedly and it seemed… forced almost. He sighed and looked at his drink. "I don't know Garrus. Do you ever hear the old saying: 'Military through and through'?"

"Heard it? Turians probably invented it." Garrus laughed dryly.

"There's no doubt about that. But still…" John sighed and leaned forward on his barstool. "….It's hard to imagine a life that's not military. A life that I don't have to expect a near death experience every five minutes. A life where I won't have to pick up a gun to defend the galaxy against every threat. But, I would try not to live that life….for her." John confided, looking towards Garrus as he nodded in agreement.

"We've seen hell together Shepard, and we're going back for another visit. It's hard to imagine living a domestic life after that. So many things could happen…so many things could go wrong." Garrus told him. "I don't think I'll know what to do when there's no need for me to carry a rifle."

"Yeah." John agreed. They sat in silence, watching the entrance for the rest of their group. "But, for now, let's just enjoy all the things that are right. Come on. I think I see two ladies wanting to dance." John stood up, spotting the two women entering the bar. Johanna was typing something on her omni-tool while Tali was helping as best she could.

"You? Dance? I thought we were to have fun, not scar them for life." Garrus told his friend as he stood up, finishing his drink with one last gulp. John laughed at his friends banter and led the way to the two women, his eyes focused mostly on the Quarian. That's when his omni-tool beeped with an incoming message from EDI, and it was marked as urgent.

* * *

**And thus, we have only one chapter until the suicide mission begins! (Makes wiggly fingers at you as I make odd noises) But anyways, I figured that we're never really give the team a chance to decompress from everything. So, Shore leave! Also, it gave me a chance for the talks between the siblings and their love interest. Johanna apologized for her actions, if you want to think she actually meant it. Also, I feel that John and Garrus talk would be less threatening and more mutual understanding. Anyways, adgnsdno;qjnrwfiorngibnqvein. That will be all. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Heyo! And thus, we arrive at the epitome of all that is to come. Get ready for a five day palooza! An update each day, for five full days, detailing the suicide mission and all that will occur, starting with the final romance scene! Who will live, who will survive? Mwahahahaha! Read, Enjoy, Review.**

"Everyone!? You lost everyone and damn near lost the ship too!?" Miranda roared as she entered the conference room, storming to where Joker was. She was the last to arrive, the rest of the ground team already there. Joker sighed and looked up at her with a look of annoyance. John gave him a look of sympathy. He couldn't imagine, feeling so helpless against someone, only option to run instead of fight.

"I know, I was there, alright!" Joker snapped back. Tali stepped forward, shielding Joker from her wrath.

"It's not his fault. None of us caught it." She defended the brittle boned pilot.

"Miss Zorah is correct. The harmful data in the collector drive was even more sophisticated than the black box Reaper viruses I was given." EDI said in Joker's defense as well. That was another thing that would eventually come up. Joker had unshackled the AI that was in their ship.

"I heard it was a rough ride Joker. How are you holding up?" Garrus asked, looking at their pilot sympathetically. Joker never took the loss of a crew member very good. He once told Johnathon that a ship's crew was like its organs. Take one out, and the ship was useless.

"There's a lot of empty chairs in here." Joker said.

"We did everything we could, Jeff." EDI comforted.

"Yeah, thanks mom." Joker sighed and looked back down at the floor. John nodded and looked towards the AI's avatar.

"Is the ship clean? We can't risk this happening again." It would be their luck that in the middle of suicide mission, the Reaper virus would decide to strike again, shutting down a critical system in the heat of combat and leave them vulnerable. Even a slight error would make the Suicide mission true to its title.

"EDI and I purged the systems. The Reaper IFF is online. We can go through the Omega 4 relay whenever you want." Joker told him. John nodded and set his mind. Tali nodded in agreement too, while Johanna and Garrus were giving him looks he easily read.

"Don't even get me started on unshackling a damn AI." Miranda commented, looking at EDI's avatar with a hint of suspicion. Joker didn't take this comment lightly, rounding on her as fast as he was allowed.

"Well, what could I do against the Collectors, break my arm at them? EDI cleared the ship, she's alright." Joker snapped. Through his mind, he could see Kelly screamed as she dragged into the elevator, Hawthorne tossed against the wall like a ragdoll, the stasis pods that clearly contained Ken and Gabby being floated out of Engineering. All while he stood there, powerless to stop them. Only John and Johanna recognized that look.

"I assure you, I am still bound by protocols in my programming. Even if I were not, you are my crewmates." EDI promised.

"EDI has had plenty of opportunities to kill us. We need all the help we can get." Johanna spoke for the AI. She almost laughed at the irony of the situation. She never thought she would see the day that she would speak in defense of an AI. "Our barriers are upgraded, our armor is improved and our guns would make a reaper scared. I think we have everything we need to save the crew."

"Sounds like we have everything we need." Jacob told him.

"We've done everything we can. It's time to take the fight to the collectors." Miranda agreed. For once, it was a statement that the entire crew could agree with. Grunt roared with happiness, slamming his fists together with happiness while everyone else nodded with agreement.

"Joker, get up to the bridge. The rest of you to your stations." John ordered.

"Aye, Aye Commander, just punch up the galaxy map when you're ready." Joker told him, saluting him. With that, everyone began to file out of the room, readying themselves for the moment they all expected…and dreaded. John rested his hand in his head for a moment, worried about what would happen in the coming hours. Which of his friends would not be here this time tomorrow?

* * *

Johanna wrung the last bit of water out of her hair as she stepped out of the woman's showers. As she did so, she took a moment to reflect on the eerie silence that now filled the Normandy. Where Rupert had once made his slop, now stood empty and desolate. The table where Hawthorne would sit and brag about how he would show the collectors who was the true boss, now silent and lifeless. Johanna never liked the idea of a ghost ship. A ship so empty that one could hear their own thoughts rebounding off the walls like an echo that would repeat, over and over again. No, this was much worse than a ghost ship. She knew the crew of this one. She casually walked towards the main battery, pausing only to stare sadly into the medical bay windows where Chakwas used to be seated. She had liked the doctor the most among the entire crew, the witty woman able to banter and insult as well as any marine. She shook her head and continued. She should make sure the guns were ready to fight an entire species worth of enemies.

She stepped into the main battery, finding a much better sight that mind numbing embrace that work promised. Garrus was standing there, holding a bottle of expensive wine and staring at the door with expectance. He wasn't in his armor, the first time she had ever seen him without it. He was in a casual outfit, or one that would consider casual wear for a human, with the simple color scheme of red and blue. "Hey, I brought wine. Best I could afford on a vigilante's salary." Johanna smiled and crossed her arms at this, staring at Garrus with happiness and a bit of amusement. Before she could say anything, Garrus quickly jumped across the room, hitting a few buttons on the console. Instantly, the room was filled with music. Not light romantic music, but a popular song for clubs. In fact, she was sure that it was the one that played at Flux all the time. Garrus held his arms as if he expected Johanna to come sprinting in his arms, or at the very least, to brag about the amount of effort he put into this.

Johanna smiled and crossed the distance between them. "If you were a Turian, I'd be complimenting your waist or your fringe." Garrus told her as he watched her approach. "So….your, uh, hair looks good. And your waist is….very supportive?" The compliments were more of a question than a statement, the Turian's keen eyes watching Johanna's reactions to what he had to say. Her silent smile apparently faltered his courage. "Hopefully that's not offensive in human culture." He tried to apologize. And like that his confidence crumbled and he looked down at the floor. "Crap. I knew I should have watched the ….." Johanna quickly reacted before he could lose any more of his confidence.

"Whoa! Consider me seduced, smooth talker." She told him, putting on her most suggestive smile and staring into his eyes. "Now shut up and stop worrying." Why did she stop him? On any normal day, she would have been glad to see him stumble through his words, this calm hunter made into a nervous wreck. But she just couldn't…..no, she didn't want him to struggle against this. Because of her. Damn, that music was making it hard to think. She reached over and tapped the console, turning off the music.

"I just…" Garrus stumbled out as he realized that she had turned off the music. "I've seen so many things go wrong, Johanna. My work at C-Sec, what happened with Sidonis…" He paused for a moment. She looked down. She was worried the same way too. She just hadn't admitted it to herself. Hell, she still hadn't told Garrus about her disease. She was just so worried, more worried than she had allowed herself to realize. She…"I want something to go right. Just once. Just…" Garrus was saying the thoughts that buzzed around her head. She stepped forward and raised her hand to touched the injured side of his face as she talked, causing him to trail off. She gently stroked his scars as she thought about this Turian in front of her, the one who had been having the same dilemma as her and she had been too damned self-centered to realize it.

Garrus lowered his head, getting closer to her and she followed his suit. She sighed resting her head on his, Garrus raising a single three-fingered hand to rest comfortably on her shoulder. Maybe, just this once, things would work out. If only this once.

* * *

John rubbed his head with irritation as he went over every piece of data that he had on the Collectors. Dense skin, so the crew would have to use Avenger assault rifles no matter their specialty, submachine guns wouldn't cut it this time. Some of the Collectors could fly, but a well-placed concussion shot could effectively knock them out of the air. He would have to place those who could accurately fire a concussion round evenly among his group. The Collector's implants allowed for a Reaper consciousness to control them, making them more powerful and difficult to kill but if sustained for too long, the body burnt out, so they would have to keep all the collectors at a safe distance. They would burn out before they reached them. These thoughts bounded back and forth among his head as he desperately attempted to come up with a strategy that would get him and his crew out of the base alive. This was a suicide mission but he didn't plan on losing soldiers any time soon. He didn't even hear as the door opened and a familiar Quarian in a purple outfit step into his room.

"So…." She said as she walked up behind him, pulling him out of his thoughts and tactical planning. He turned towards her, a small smile coming to his face as she began to clear the distance the separated the two. "…I've taken some antibiotics, as well as some herbal supplements that should bolster my immune system." John sighed as another thought crossed his mind. What if Tali didn't make it out? What if he would be solely responsible for her death because of a single bad decision, what if he took her out of this galaxy forever because of a wrong call? Tali saw his body language shifting as he thought about this. "I was going to bring music, but I didn't know what you'd like…" She reached forward and took the datapad from his hand. The Collectors could wait for now. "And I'm babbling like an idiot." She stepped close him but she held back ever so slightly as if she was afraid that he had changed his mind. John smiled reassuringly at the Quarian before him. God was she cute when she babbled.

"It's okay. Come here." He told her, pulling her closer to cast off her worst fear, their two body matching the curves of the other. They embraced for a moment, Tali run her hands down his back as he did that same to her. He could feel her heart racing beneath her suit, the poor think going faster than an FTL drive. It was only a moment before he realized his own heart was beating fast as well, matching the speed of Tali's as if in a race for the most nervous.

"I just don't want to….I want this to work." She began, pulling John over to his bed as she babbled, allaying any fear he had. He smiled, staring into the bright little spots that were her eyes. "I've thought this over. I've minimized the risks. But I'm still nervous." What did her eyes really look like, underneath that mask? He bet they were beautiful, better than the stars that rest above his bed. "And that always makes me talk too much." Her eyes darted about as she talked, little orbs dancing about beneath the mask. "It's a defense mechanism, and it's stupid, and….."John smiled as Tali continued to talk. She was nervous, more than he had ever seen her but, he knew that she wanted this and he did to, more than anything. Just a small glimpse of those eyes would make him happy.

"People who…" He reached forward, cupping her mask in both his hands. "Who just see the helmet can't see my expression….." She raised a hand as if to stop him from doing it but offered no resistance as his fingers found the release clamps. "So I have to make it clear….what I'm…." She stopped talking for a moment, as she realized the mask was slowly lifting off her face. This would be her first time truly seeing the man before her. Not surrounded by some purple haze or with small little numbers or figures dancing about around him. "….feeling…." They both stared at each other, soaking in each other's true image for a moment.

Then Tali, with unexpected speed and ferocity, pushed John down on the bed, fiercely but at the same time, gently pressing her lips into his. John offered no resistance to the push, falling back and wrapping his arms around her as he returned the kiss. The mask, which only a few seconds ago had separated the two with what seemed like an iron wall, now lay on the floor, forgotten by both.

* * *

**Ah, can you smell the finale already? Smells glorious. Anyways, we're once again presented with another "meeting" with only Miranda and Jacob while they yell at Joker. Didn't make sense that Garrus and Tali would not be there, seeing as they know Joker as well. Also, romance scene! There's a lot of debate whether Shepard and his/her dextro romance actually committed the deed during this, since they are the only two that lack graphic scenes. Personally, I think that proves the romances are the best, showing people that unlike Liara, Ashley or the others, we don't need to see them naked to still love them. (And I mean that platonically as the writer but as Shepard, definitely not platonically.) More thoughts on this later on in the series, you may leave for the time being. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Part 2 of 5! And thus they have gone into hell without a backwards glance. Read, Enjoy, Review. **

"Shepard. I wish I had more information for you. I don't like you heading through that relay blind, but we don't have much choice." The Illusive Man greeted John. He was standing, the first time that John had seen him do so in his talks with him. He was clearly as anxious about this mission as a good majority of his crew.

"I'm not going alone, I've got some of the best working with me. If we stick together, we'll make it." John told him. John wondered if the Illusive Man would brag about this being a human victory after all was said and done, despite his crew being almost half alien. Most likely but that wasn't worth the worry right now.

"I knew we brought you back for a reason. I've never seen a better leader." The Illusive Man complimented. "Despite the danger, it's a great opportunity. The first human to take a ship through…..and survive." John scoffed at his choice of words. Of course his thoughts would purely be on the human aspect of things. And the way he spoke about the mission made it sound as though it was some sort of field trip.

"I'm going to destroy the Collectors. To stop their attacks on humanity. Not for sightseeing." John reminded the Illusive Man.

"Understood, it's still impressive. I just wanted you to know. I appreciate the risk you're taking. Regardless of your opinion of Cerberus. Of me. You are….a valuable asset. To all of humanity." He told him. John silently thought if this was the Illusive Man's way of telling him to stay alive at any cost. The man before him stopped for a moment, as if he just considered something before saying: "Be careful, Shepard."

* * *

"Approaching the Omega 4 relay. Everyone stand by." Joker said aloud as the ship pulled up next to the mass relay. It's eerie red light swathed the Normandy, as if trying to give them one final warning to turn away. John took a deep breath and steadied his nerves. No, the Collectors took his crew and he was not going to sit back while they were in the Collector's hands. Especially after seeing the horror on the Collector Ship.

"Let's make it happen." John gave the order. Joker smiled and nodded, turning his attention back to the controls. EDI gave the confirmation that the Reaper IFF had been activated, and the ship gave a small shudder.

"Commander, the drive core just lit up like a Christmas tree." Jacob told him over the comm. John bit the inside of his cheek. EDI said they cleared the ship of any viruses and he trusted her. The unshackled AI gave a brief warning about the critical levels of the electrical charges. He hoped his team could handle it. Legion, Kasumi and Tali had taken over the Engineering, being the most experienced in that type of tech. Joker assisted them by rerouting the electrical charges to non-critical systems, allowing them to overload instead of the main drive core. John watched out of the corner of his eye as his private terminal exploded in a shower of sparks and he laughed slightly. So much for checking emails in the heart of battle. He steadied himself as the Normandy hit the relay, sending them forward at a speed only the relays could accomplish. He wasn't worried about the IFF actually working, though he knew he should be, but rather, what would be waiting for them on the other side. After all, it wouldn't be the most successful mission if they arrived down the barrel of a Collector ship or in the heart of a black hole. His worry was well-placed, as soon as the Normandy reached normal speed that announced the successful arrival on the other side of the relay, the Normandy's pilot and captain were met with debris hurtling towards them at a dangerous pace.

"Oh shit!" Joker cried and quickly hit the control, bringing the Normandy's nose up at a dangerous level. Joker bobbed and wove the ship until they were safely about the debris field, only the occasional starship up there, floating carelessly in space. John looked at the ships that surrounded. He saw a Turian survey vessel and a couple of Asari scientific vessels but the models were older than any he'd seen them use. The rest of the ships were far too ancient for him to make out, questioning if some of these things had been from the time of the Protheans or was this massive field simply the work of a single cycle. "This must be all the ships that tried to make it through the Omega 4 relay. Some look….ancient." John nodded in agreement at Joker's achievement. Had the Collector's not existed, this would be an invaluable field of study.

"I have detected an energy signature near the edge of the accretion disk." EDI informed. John's eyes were drawn to the most abnormal of all the ships in the area. This was by far the largest, so massive that the other ships around it looked like nothing more than a couple of fighters that had been shot in space. It was tilted slightly as if it was trying to blend in with the debris field, but even from this distance, John could make out the clear mark of a Collector's ship.

"Has to be the Collector base. Take us in for a closer look. Nice and easy." John told the pilot. The Normandy accelerated, dodging debris with slight turns as it grew near the Collector. John realized something as they continued. If the Collector base was using the debris as a tactical camoflauge, there was bound to be something else in the field, hiding among the debris as well. Almost as if on cue, EDI started up the cockpit alarms.

"Careful, Jeff, we have company!" A bright red laser shot past the window of the cockpit, showing them how close they had been from being hit. Joker hit the buttons as quickly as his could, speeding the Normandy up even more as he focused on dodging the attacks. Two of the ships appeared in front of them, their lasers charging as they aimed at the cockpit.

"Now they're just pissing me off." Joker growled as he couldn't shake them as he hit the weapons systems, easily blowing the two to pieces with well-placed shots thanks to the AI. He handed over the targeting system to EDI with a simple order of blowing them out of the sky. The Normandy shook as it took a direct hit on to where Jack had been standing, typing in various commands. The biotic looked over at John with a relieved laugh.

"Fuck, that could have been bad." She told him before moving from the spot where she could have been killed. John nodded in agreement. Had it not been for that new armor, he may have already lost his first teammate to the Collectors. The Normandy shook hazardously, almost sending them to the floor but they held, Jack regaining her balance and sprinting to the science lab. It was one of the more fortified areas of the ship, easily able to withstand a good majority of the assaults that were being sent at them. And so the Normandy and the ships continued this game, Joker pulling off maneuvers that only the Normandy could do with being ripped in half, difficult for even some fighters. But it wasn't enough to keep them all out. One of the Oculus cut them off, using their upside down position to cut a hole into the cargo bay.

"Alert! Hull breach on Engineering deck." EDI warned.

"It's in the Cargo hold!" Joker told John as he looked at the red dot on the Normandy's holographic display. John nodded and sprinted towards the elevator.  
"I need everyone in Engineering to get to the Cargo hold. We have a visitor!" He ordered over the comm as he ran.

* * *

"We're sitting ducks out here! I have to try to lose them in the debris field!" Joker yelled over Johanna's comm. Johanna grit her teeth, hitting the buttons as fast as she could, shutting down everything in the med-bay. No one was using it and it was only taking power that the Normandy could be using to fight off their attackers. Johanna sighed and was silently glad that Tali had upgraded the kinetic barriers when she came aboard. Hopefully that would give them some leeway if they had a collision. She could feel the ship shake with every close impact is had, the barriers straining to keep the massive debris away from the ship. One impact was so violent it sent Johanna into the med-bay's desk, slamming mouth against the metal hard enough to blood her mouth.

Spitting out some of the pooling blood, Johanna shut down the last system and sprinted free of the medical bay. The crew's quarters were next. "Garrus, I need assistance here." She called into her comm for the only other person on the same floor as her. Everyone was either in engineering or holed up in the second level of the ship since it was the most fortified place.

"Race you there!" He called as she saw him sprint from the Main battery. He just had to do some last minute calibrations. "I'll get the starboard lounge!"

* * *

John helped Tali up, the Quarian having been sent to the floor with the rather violent shake of the last attack. "Damage report." He asked, checking in.

"Well, the drive core almost exploded but I kept it in check." Kasumi informed him with a rather relieved voice. "Good thing I stayed behind, huh, Shep?" The Master Thief had done so without much warning, sending Tali with the message that she was not a frontline fighter capable of taking down the Oculus.

"Alert! We have detected the Oculus energy signature. It has come around for another attack." Legion warned as he stepped over to where Tali and John were standing. As if on cue, the left side of the Cargo hold exploded, giving way to an already damaged Oculus.

"Move!" John ordered as the team scattered, Grunt narrowly avoiding the beam as it cut a long trench in the ground where he had been standing. "Zaeed, Legion! Draw it's fire! Grunt, Tali, get ready to hit with everything you got." He ordered, seeing it approaching the hiding spot of the Krogan. There was a clang as Legion connected a shot from his widow rifle to the side of the Oculus and the explosion of an inferno grenade followed shortly after. The Oculus, forgetting about the Krogan tank bred, turned it's attention to them, priming its weapon. Quickly, the three leapt from cover, firing their most powerful weapons at it. Tali cranked shot after shot at the Oculus while Grunt and John hit it with the combined might of a missile launcher and a particle beam. The Oculus fell to the combined fire, it's exterior cracking and beginning to heat up.  
"Get to cover!" John ordered as he saw the Oculus about to blow.

* * *

Johanna looked out the Port side window as they cleared the debris field, watching as the Collector base grew closer and closer. She nodded and hit the final button, shutting down all the unnecessary electronics in the debris field. She'd hacked into the audio systems in the cockpit, to get a good understanding of what was going on. "See if you can find a place to land without drawing their attention." John told the pilot. Johanna stopped herself from leaving as she saw a familiar little blip detach itself from the Collector base.

"Too late. Looks like their sending an old friend to greet us." Joker's disembodied voice replied to John. The ship turned towards them menacingly and fired a beam shot that almost hit the Normandy, only to be narrowly avoided. Johanna smiled and said aloud:

"Time to show them our new teeth." She said, simultaneously with her brother, despite being in two separate rooms. She watched as the first shot from the main guns slammed into the ship, causing explosions to blossom from it.

"How do you like that, you sons-of-a-bitches!" Joker yelled over the comm. Johanna laughed in sync and ran from the lounge, only to see Garrus about to run it.

"Let's go get a front row seat!" Johanna told him, jumping into the elevator and hitting the CIC button. She wanted to see her guns in action, ripping apart the enemy that had dared to kill a Shepard. The elevator sped to the second floor, arriving just as Joker faced down the Collector ship. He hit them with another shot, ripping the ship apart and causing the explosions to ripple through the enemy ship. Garrus was the first out of the elevator, running towards the cockpit with renewed vigor. He missed the explosion that rocked the ship and causing one of the support beams to go barreling towards him. Johanna reacted fast, leaping forward and tackling the turian to the ground just in time to avoid the beam. The beam slammed into the wall, crumbling the metal as easily as tissue paper.

"Uh, thanks." Garrus told her, sitting up and looking towards the beam.

"Well, I couldn't have a beam turning my Gare Bear's organs into mush." Johanna told him, sitting beside him. Garrus looked at her, his mandibles moving in an amused fashion. She laughed and shook her head. She really was not good at this whole pet name thing.

"Screw you, I'm sticking with it." She told him, stubbornly refusing to embarrass herself with a new name. They both laughed, but their amusement was short lived. A shockwave from the exploding Collector ship shook the Normandy, causing everything to go black for a moment. "Oh crap." Johanna mentioned, grabbing onto the railing of the galaxy map just as the Normandy slammed into the Collector base, causing it to shudder and fall the rest of the way. She latched onto Garrus's collar, preventing the crash from sending him across the room as the Normandy hit the main base and skidded to a stop. She could see through a slight opening on the Galaxy map projector as her brother and Joker were tossed about as well. Joker almost sent careening out of his chair and her brother sent clear across the room. Even Johanna, who had already braced for this kind of impact, slammed into the floor heavily, sending shockwaves of pain throughout her body.

By the time the ship steadied again and Johanna could safely let go of the railing, she was aware of how much her hand hurt from holding her and the turian safely. Garrus was groaning, having a rougher experience than Johanna. "All hands, report to the conference room." Her brother's voice rang out over the comm as they both stood. Johanna sighed and rubbed her ribs where she had slammed into the floor, pain making it feel as though she had broker a few.

"Well, we're off to a good start. Come on, let's go." Garrus told her, pulling her close so that he could support her as she walked. She considered brushing him off for a moment before allowing herself to lean on the Turian and limp into the next room.

* * *

**Alright, you have successfully completed the second level in the final mission! I noticed that even if you do upgrade the Normandy, it still gets as damaged as it would have without the upgrades, so this was my solution. Note, the upgrades weren't useless, they just limited the damage enough for the other squad members to have time to respond to it. That's about all I have to say on this chapter. Begone with thee! Just kidding, see ya later. **


	21. Chapter 21

**Heyo! This is update 3/5! Hope you enjoy and are anticipating the end! Read, Enjoy, Review.**

When John entered the room, everyone was already there, checking their weapons and passing out the heavy weapons to those that were the most qualified to use them. Garrus and Johanna were programming weapons to use their most powerful setting, and Jack programming some of the guns with Warp ammo. John walked past them, nodding to everyone he passed as he went to the head of the table. "This isn't how we planned on this mission, but this is where we're at." John told them as he reached the head of the table, drawing their attentions to him as he leaned against the table. "We can't worry about whether the Normandy can get us home. We came to stop the Collectors, and that means coming up with a plan to take out this station. EDI, bring up your scans." Everyone stopped what they were doing, convening around the table like they did during team meetings. The holographic display struggled to get up but managed to pull through, giving them a readout on the collector's base. The crash landing had not been kind to the Normandy but she was pulling through for them still.

"You should be able to overload their critical systems if you get to the main control center here." A blue indicator raised up and pointed to their destination.

"That means going through the heart of the station. Right past this massive energy signature." Jacob warned, lighting up the area he was talking about. It was clearly the largest chamber in the entire station, leaving the team to wonder what this massive energy signature could mean.

"That's the central chamber. If our crew or any of the colonists are still alive, the Collectors are probably holding them in there." John told them. The only thing missing now was a way to get there without being torn apart by Collector forces.

"Looks like there are two main routes. Might be a good idea to split up to keep the Collector's off balance and regroup in the central chamber." Jacob suggested.

"No good. Both routes are blocked. See these doors? The only way past is to get someone to open them from the other side." Miranda quickly shot down.

"It's not a fortress, there's got to be something." He muttered to himself as he scanned the holographic map of the Collector base. Then he saw it. "Here, maybe we can send someone in through this ventilation shaft." John told him.

"Practically a suicide mission. I volunteer." Jacob commented. John shook his head at Jacob. The man was a good soldier but he was too eager to throw himself into a potentially deadly situation. He also didn't have the required technical expertise to shut down the security systems in time. A good leader knew his own limitations as well as he knew his squads.

"I appreciate the thought, Jacob, but you couldn't shut down the security systems in time. We need to send a tech expert." Miranda voiced his thoughts to her fellow Cerberus operative.

"It's your call, Commander. Who do we send into the shaft?" Jacob asked, looking towards John for guidance. John took a deep breath and thought about who could do it. Mordin had a decent amount of knowledge in tech but he was more of a xenobiologist than a tech expert. Legion could easily hack their systems but the Geth was one of the strongest frontline fighters they had and he couldn't risk taking him out of the main combat. Kasumi was ideal, she wasn't a frontline fighter and she was capable of hacking any system but she would an invaluable flanker during combat, the same going for his sister, their tactical cloaks capable of fooling even the best scanner. Which only left one person he trusted to do this. He looked at Tali and took a deep breath. He trusted her to do this, just as much as he trusted Garrus and Johanna.

"Tali….you have the most experience. I'll send you into the shaft." He told her, looking towards the Quarian.  
"You can count on me John." She told him.

"The rest of us will break into two teams and fight down each passage. That should the Collector's attention away from what you're doing." He told them. Miranda stepped forward as he mentioned this, holding her head high.

"I'll lead the second fire team, Shepard. We'll meet up with you on the other side of the doors." John almost scolded her, saying he hadn't chosen her to lead his team. Thankfully, Jack did it for him.

"Not so fast, Cheerleader. Nobody wants to orders from you." She told her, glaring towards her with anger. Much to Miranda's anger, a good number of the ground team nodded along with Jack, clearly still untrusting of the Cerberus XO.

"This isn't a popularity contest! Lives are at stake, Shepard—you need someone who can command through experience." She told them. John nodded, knowing this was the truth. Theoretically, anyone could lead the team, even Grunt. But only a few people would actually make the correct decisions involved in doing so. Jacob could handle the position well, but he was too eager to prove himself in a suicide mission and Miranda was another possibility, but it was important to have a fireteam leader that wasn't hated. Which only left the one obvious solution.

"Miranda's right." John told his team. Before her triumphant grin could get too big however, John turned to his turian friend. "Garrus, you up for it?"

"I won't let you down Shepard." Garrus told him, raising his sniper to show his readiness. Garrus had experience leading a team against suicidal odds and his previous team's numbers nearly matched the one he was leading now.

"Fine with me. Ugly's certainly better than Cheerleader." Jack agreed, pushing off the table. Miranda barely contained a disappointed sigh and walked back to where Jacob was standing.

"Well, at least he knows what he's doing." She said through her teeth, clearly unhappy she had been passed up. John ignored her for now, he would talk with her later.

"I don't know what we're going to find in there, but I'm not going to lie to you, it's not going to be easy." John told his team, pacing back and forth in front of the table. He looked at his team with a mixture of pride and happiness. These were the best soldiers of the galaxy, some of them rejects and others unknown to how to work with a team. But here they were, not as individuals facing the coming storm, but facing it together, side by side. Not a single worry or scared thought bouncing in their heads. Simply….trust. They were looking towards him for guidance. Not just as a commander that would shout orders, but as a friend and ally. He never would have guessed with some of them. "We've lost some good people and we may lose more. We don't know how many the Collector have stolen. Thousands, hundreds of thousands. It doesn't matter anymore. What matters is this. Not. One. More." He told them. The team began to stand taller and look more inspired. They weren't there to get revenge or for any personal grudge, they were there to protect others. And there was nothing better worth fighting for. "It ends with us. They want to know what were made of, I say let's show them. On our terms. Let's bring our people home."

Grunt roared with approval, shouting a war cry and slamming his fists together. John laughed at his eagerness and looked at Garrus. "I'm sending most of them with you. I'll take a small team and we'll follow the pipe to keep Tali safe. Who do you need for a fact?" John consulted.

"Jack and Samara for sure. Biotics can turn the tide of a battle and having those two powerhouses with us will make things easier." Garrus told him.

"Thanks Ugly." Jack said, accepting his compliment.

"I'll need Legion and his sniper as well. He's the only one capable of firing it without it breaking an arm and we'll need the firepower. We're going to be bringing in a lot of heat and I need to know we can fight it off. Anyone else is fair game." Garrus finished.

"Right. Mordin and Zaeed, your with me. The rest of you are with Garrus. Any questions?" He asked. When none arouse, he nodded and ordered: "Move out!"

* * *

"Alright Jack and Samara, I want you spread out and erecting barriers when needed, but otherwise hitting them area effects. Hit them with everything you got. Legion and Thane, I need bringing up the rear and shooting anything that comes into your scope. Grunt, Jacob, Miranda, and I will be the main party, when we move, you move. Johanna and Kasumi, put those tactical cloaks to good use and flank anyone who comes up on our side. Otherwise, keep near the main party. Avengers out people, we need to hit them with everything we got." Garrus ordered as they approached the door that would lead them to the next chamber. The chamber where the Collectors were no doubt waiting for them to enter.

"You know, I've never actually shot one of these." Kasumi commented, holding up her Avenger rifle as Legion began to hack into the door.

"It's easy. The recoil is just about the same as a Locust but it's easier to grip and to control even if bulkier. You'll get the hang of it in a few shots." Johanna assured her, getting into position. She took a deep breath as the door began to open, Legion sprinting away and into his assigned position. A certain quote came to mind as the doors slowly opened.

"Though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of death. I will fear no evil: For thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." She said, loud enough for the whole team to hear.

"Psalms 23:4. King James Bible." Thane mentioned from where he was. "Seems appropriate given our current circumstances."

"I thought so." Johanna agreed.

"Everyone, get ready! Here they come!" Garrus cried from in front of her. As if on cue, a wall of fire erupted through the door, raining down on the team. Johanna ducked beneath her cover, listening for a break in the fire as she sat there, squatted down. The moment it came, the entire team moved in one fluid motion, standing up and firing, ripping apart the Collector that stood at the door before surging forward.

* * *

John ducked underneath a warp that the Harbinger imbued Collector threw at him and sent his own powerful warp in turn. The warp slammed into the Collector, causing it to disengrate into nothing more than some black ash, floating in the air. Tali could feel the sweat pouring out of her pores as she was forced to watch this battle without helping, without contributing anything. It didn't help that it was blistering hot and the heat only increased the longer she was in this damn tube. "John, it feels like my skin is on fire!" She told him through the comms. He needed to open the next valve so that she didn't burn alive. It was the second to last one, but the Collectors seemed to be doing their best to keep John away from the button, sending in soldier after soldier at him. She felt so useless behind this damn pipe! She punched the glass in frustration and immediately regretted it. The glass was absorbing most of the heat, so it felt much the same as punching red hot metal.

However, it seemed that hearing her voice gave John a new surge of adrenaline, causing him to use a biotic charge to hit a Collector near the release, sending it into the glass and then down into the never ending pit below them. John shot the next one in line with a point blank shot from his shotgun, ending its guard detail and jumped forward, hitting the button that released the valve. Tali almost screamed with relief as instantly, the area around her cooled enough to buy her a few more minutes as she ran forward, determined to get to the next valve. Every second she took was another second that could leave her in the sights of a Collector weapon, though she wasn't sure if they particularly cared about her at the moment. Thankfully, this time, the Collectors offered little resistance to the team to progress forward, attacking her protection from behind, allowing John to easily reach it and release her into the central chamber.

She turned toward John's door for a moment before stopping herself and sprinting to the other. She needed to let them in first. They were dealing with the larger portion of the Collector so they were in the most danger. She sprinted forward, quickly hitting the door buttons and rewiring their system so that the door opened. Garrus was the first through, firing his weapon until the thermal clip popped out. "Look out! Seeker swarms!" He warned as a large number of bug like enemies poured from the nearest pipe and surged towards them. The rest of the team hurried into the chamber, Tali barely closing the door in time to prevent to the bugs from tearing at them. Then, without skipping a beat, she sprinted over to the door where John was, explosions still slamming into the door. Was she too late? Did she take too long? She shook her head of those thoughts. John was a force of nature. No Collector or Reaper would ever kill him.

Hacking this door was even easier than the first one, since she had a fair idea what she was doing this time. However, just before she was about to open the door, a rocket shook the metal, causing the wires to begin to short out. "Bosh'tet!" She screamed at it, drawing Garrus's attention as she desperately connected different wires. She could open the door easy, but closing it was going to be another problem all together. So, without a second thought, she got the doors open just enough to let in John and his squad, the three firing at the growing horde. Damn, if this continued, she wouldn't be able to get the door closed without them taking some serious damage. The door shuddered and attempted to close but was prevented by the damage caused to it, which was slowing the process. If she could somehow force it to close faster, they would be safe.

"Suppressing fire! Don't let anyone through that door!" Garrus ordered from behind her as the entire second team let loose a torrent of bullets that tore apart the horde outside their doors. Tali was grateful for the extra time to think, quickly readjusting the wires and rerouting power from the rest of the station to give the door extra power. The idea worked like a charm, the doors shuddering for a moment before slamming closed. John stepped back, bending down with a relieved laugh. Tali jumped to her feet and wrapped John in a hug that almost crushed his back.

"Nice work, Tali. I knew I could count on you." He told her returning the brief hug, glad she was alright as much as she was he. When she let go, he returned his attention back to Garrus, who was watching them amusement. "Let's go, shall we?"

"Shepard, you need to see this." Garrus told him, motioning his head towards the central chamber. John walked towards to where Garrus was motioning, eyes widening as he approached. Row upon endless row of Collector capsules lines the walls. More than the Collector ship and that was more capsules than every human in the Terminus systems combined. How many of them were full, how many of them had some poor colonist in them, waiting for the Collectors to do whatever they had planned for them. It seemed like a worse position to be than when he was on Mindoir. He noticed one of them still had someone in them, a colonist from the look of them.

"Looks like one of the missing colonists." Tali voiced his thoughts as John stepped forward and wiped the glass to see better. Almost as if responding to his touch, the woman began to stir. "Look, there's the rest of the crew." Tali mentioned, walking past him and approaching the one holding Gardner. Their attention was suddenly drawn by a shot of pressurized air as something was pumped into the capsules. John watched in horror as the woman in the capsule in front of his began to turn black and melt, skin falling off in a sickening display and turning a pool of black genetic material. She scratched at the glass in a futile attempt to escape from whatever was happening to her. Every single attempt left some of the black liquid on the glass as the woman painfully died before them. The scene was so sudden and surprising that they could do nothing but watch until it was too late to save her.

"Get them out of there!" John ordered as he watched the same thing pumped into the other capsules. The team jumped forward, desperate to save those who remained. Grunt ripped off one of the lids with his bare hands while the rest of team, lacking his strength, had to resort to using the butts of their rifles to smash the glass. John, using biotic fill strength, pulled off of the lids, barely catching Mess Sergeant Gardner before hit the ground. Setting him down safely before sprinting over to the one that held Doctor Chakwas just as Miranda pried open the lid. "Doctor Chakwas, are you okay?" John asked, catching the elderly Doctor before she hit the ground.

"Shepard?" She asked, as if she had just regained her bearings. "You….you came for us."

"No one gets left behind." John told her, lifting her from the ground and to her feet. The rest of the crew got their bearing about that time as well, walking up to their Commander, the same look across all their faces.

"Thank god you got here in time. A few more seconds and…." Kelly greeted, smiling at him. She stopped as she reached this train of thought and shook it free of her head. "I don't even want to think about it."

"Those colonists were….processed. Those swarms of little robots, they—melted the bodies into gray liquid and pumped it through these tubes." Chakwas told him, looking up at the tubes that hung from the ceilings.

"Must be base genetic material. Would be most likely explanation for microscopic robot. Much more effective methods for other plausible explanation. Curious as to why the Collectors need it." Mordin suggested, dipping one of his fingers in the draining material in one of the tubes.

"Whatever the Collectors are doing, it ends here!" John growled, his anger raising as he thought about how many people suffered underneath this fate.

"We've gotten this far. Let's finish them off while we're at it." Garrus told John, knowing when his friend was feeling angry or not.

"Joker? Can you get a fix on our position?" John asked.

"Roger that, Commander. All those tubes lead into the main control room right above you." Joker told him. "The route is blocked by a security door, but there's another chamber that runs parallel to the one you're in."

"I cannot recommend that. Thermal emission suggests that the chamber is overrun with seeker swarms. Mordin's countermeasure cannot protect you against so many at once." EDI warned. John thought for a moment. These seekers weren't all powerful, they had to have a weakness. If there was just a way to keep them off of the team. John looked at his hands as an idea began to form in his head.

"What about biotics?" He suggested, talking to EDI and his crew simultaneously. "We could create a biotic field to keep them from getting near us."

"Yes….I think it may be possible. I would not be able to protect everyone, but we might be able to get a small team through if they stayed close." Samara told him, shrugging along. Jack shook her head and stepped forward.

"No way Grandma. This is my specialty. My biotics are the only ones capable of handling the strain." Jack protested, stepping forward.

"I could do it, too. In theory, any biotic could handle it. Shepard, who do you want to maintain the field?" Miranda spoke up. John immediately cut all the biotics from his head with the exception of Samara and Jack. They were the only two that would be able to handle the amount of time that would be required to get through the next chamber, giving them some leyway should anything slow them down. And he knew something would. He looked at Samara. She had the experience and her biotic powers were a result of training unlike Jack, who had her biotic abilities forced on her, which was why he had to leave her with Garrus. Samara was a heavy hitter with the experience to back it up, and while Jack was a powerhouse, she was not suited for extended frontline contact.

"Jack, you'll be maintaining the field. I'll take Tali and Thane with me." John ordered, looking at Garrus. "Think you'll be okay without Jack there to hold your hand?"

"Well, I might have to cry myself to sleep but I'll get over it." Garrus laughed. John nodded as the unsaid fact that Garrus would be leading the second fireteam once again.

"Alright, I need you to provide a diversion by going through the main passage. We'll open the security doors from the other side and meet you there." John told him. He turned his attention towards his crew as Chakwas approached him with a worried look.

"What about me and the rest of the crew, Shepard? We're in no shape to fight." Chakwas told him, his voice full of worry. John nodded, showing he had thought of this. He couldn't allow the crew to go without an escort but he couldn't spare very many people to do it.

"Commander?" Joker spoke into his comm, having heard the conversation. "We have enough systems online to do a pickup, but we'd need to land back from your position." John nodded and silently thanked his luck. This would be much more a problem to solve.

"We can't afford to go back, Shepard. Not now." Miranda protested.

"They'll never make it without help. I'll send someone with you." John promised, shooting Miranda down. Which left the question of who to send? This one answered itself, thankfully, in the form of a Salarian scientist.

"Shepard. Volunteer for mission." Mordin said, walking up to him. "Weakest physically. Win battles based on surprise and other varied elements. Paralysis, stuns, etc. Little room to do so here. Would be optimal choice. Will keep crew safe and fireteam will not be weakened." John nodded in acceptance. It was true that he had his doubts about the Salarian in the upcoming battle, his fighting style not meant for full on combat. Mordin nodded with his smile and typed in the coordinates into his omni-tool. He looked at his team, taking them one more time before saying:

"We've all got our assignments. Let's move out!"

* * *

**I initially planned on extended Johanna's scene much longer, but couldn't think of what to write beyond shooting the Collector's, so I kept it short and sweet. And the way I chose my specialists and team leader was how I actually thought it through during my first playthrough, before I knew who would succeed. Looking at other's playthroughs, a lot of people choose Legion and Kasumi, but I always thought of them as a better fireteam since they both use ranged weapons while Tali used a shotgun. Also, you may have noticed a lot of hate for Miranda in my postings, because I really did hate her in ME2, because of how often she was shoved down the players throat. She's made XO and practically orders Shepard around throughout the entire game even though he was commander. I like her better in ME3 as a friend so, she'll get less hate later. Other than that, I got nothing more to say on this subject. See ya'll tomorrow. **


	22. Chapter 22

_**Heyo! Chapter update 4/5! Also, if the Fanfiction does speakest the truth, my story has just reached 10,000 views and that makes me really happy, so can I get a woot woot! Read, Enjoy, Review.**_

Jack's barrier easily kept out the army of insects that was in the room, sending them flying as they hit the barrier at an attempt to get at the four people inside. However, the unfortunate result of this was that Jack could not make her barriers powerful enough to absorb the weapons fire flying at them, forcing them to stop constantly in order to dispatch collector forces. It wasn't long before Jack was struggling with each step, as if lead weights were tied to her legs. Each step was forced and struggled, the strain evident as Jack gritted her teeth and pushed herself forward. Her hands were shaking with effort but her biotics remained solid. "Hold on, we're almost there." John called to both Jack and the fireteam.

"Oh, no problem. We'll just get shot at some more." His sister responded as the sound of gunfire filled his comm. "My day isn't complete till I've been shot." He ignored his sister's complaining and went back to gunning down the Collectors that ran at them, dispatching them easily. They didn't seem to think cover was all too important anymore.

"We need to get out of here." Tali called as she climbed on top of the nearest cover and used the raised position to gun down a Collector in cover. She leapt down as a number of bullets whizzed towards, barely dodging them in time to prevent a suit rupture. John responded by summoning a shockwave and sent barreling through Collector forces, sending them over the edge of the bridge they were on.

"Alright. Full charge! Don't slow down!" He called and sprinted to the front of the field, before spinning around and hitting a Collector following them. Jack took his order and began to sprint forward, her barrier beginning to waiver as she did. They needed to clear the room before it fell and exposed them to the swarm outside. "They're pushing! Keep it up!" John called as the Collector forces began to surge forward, throwing themselves against the wall of fire that his team managed to give off.

"Hurry Shepard." Jack said through gritted teeth, slowing her pace just enough so that John could easily run to the front, which was just past the door. John growled and kept firing at the group, as Collector and husks charged forward, preventing him from having enough time to get to the door controls. They couldn't let the second fireteam in if they were under this amount of fire, without risking falling to a shot to the back. He heard Jack beginning to growl as she realized the situation as well. "Oh fuck this!" She growled, turning around to face the horde surging at them. These were her friends that they were threatening, her friends that were relying on her to protect them. The thought made her pause for a slight second. She had friends, not acquaintances, not mutual partners but friends. They knew she would protect them, not because she was powerful, but because they trusted her to do so.

The revelation gave Jack a surge of adrenaline that she needed. Any other biotic wouldn't have been able to do, not even John. But Jack had anger and loyalty surging through her veins at that moment. Her hands wreathed themselves with so much biotic energy that John was surprised that she still had the strength to do that. Then with a primal yell, she put all the extra power into the barrier and send it as a massive shockwave at the enemy forces.

There was no safety for the enemy, each Collector tossed across the room like a ragdoll. Even the seeker swarms had a large swath cut in the middle of them, making their numbers look far fewer than before. It made them focus on regrouping rather than attacking the now defenseless ground team. Jack was breathing hard but her face was one of pure victory. Those bastards weren't taking anyone today. "Come on." He told his squad, sprinting into the rendezvous point.

* * *

"We're losing ground!" Johanna yelled as she and Zaeed were forced to back up once again. Garrus was in the back of the group with Legion, using their combined sniper efforts to lower the enemy's numbers. But it wasn't enough. The enemies were coming at them, left and right, from above and down below, with no end in sight. They had given up so much ground that their backs were against the door, the cold metal taunting them by keeping safety away. Grunt was barely regening fast enough to keep up with the number of wounds he was being dealt, still a few covers in front of the rest of the group and keeping the bulk of the husks and abominations at bay. As Johanna swung her rifle around, she watched as Grunt lifted a husk off the ground and smashed its against a nearby wall, before spinning and sending a shotgun blast into another one.

"If relief does not come soon, it is unlikely we will make it out." Samara coolly commented, sending a reave that caused her to regenerate some wounds at the expense of the Collector. Johanna followed her example and sent a weak warp at a Collector Assassin that was flying in, sending it to the ground with a sickening crunch.

"That's not good!" Zaeed called as he looked past the attacking enemies. In the distance, the team could just make out three approaching Praetorians, barriers already up and charging at them with unnatural speed.

"Focus on the ground troops. Shepard will get this door open before they get here!" Garrus assured, shooting down a collector captain. Johanna couldn't help but thank their luck that the Harbinger units were focused mostly on her brother at the moment, the leader far more interested in him than his crew. It certainly took some of the strain off them. For a moment, she had a scary thought about one of the Praetorians being possessed by Harbinger and shivered in fear. That would be one hell of an opponent to deal with. Garrus growled behind her and hit his comm. "Shepard! Come on Shepard, where are you!? We're pinned at the door, under some real heavy fire! And it looks like they called some very angry looking Praetorians!" Garrus called into the comm.  
"We're coming, just hold on!" John told them over the comms. "Tali get that door open. Thane, get ready to bring the heat!" The door behind them opened a second later and two more guns entered the battle, giving the cover to retreat into the safety of the next room. The team quickly ran into the room, Garrus being the last through. As the doors closed, a single shot rebounded and hit Garrus in the stomach. Johanna felt her heart quicken and she leapt over to him, making sure he was alright.

"Don't worry about it. Didn't get through the armor." He assured her, standing up and showing her where the bullet had stopped. She laughed in relief and hit Garrus as hard as she could in the arm. Damn, was that a relief.

John didn't have time to celebrate about his entire team managing to survive another go at the Collector forces. He hit his comm and radioed in to Joker. "Joker, are you at the rendezvous point?" He demanded to know.

"Chakwas and the rest of the crew just showed up." Joker told him. In the background, he could hear the telltale voice of Ken complaining about the damage the Normandy had received from the events earlier. He smiled with happiness.

"Mordin's group just arrived Shepard, no casualties." EDI informed him.

"Good. Let's make it count. What's the next step?" Garrus asked, walking up to John, loading a fresh thermal clip into his rifle.

"There should be some nearby platforms that will take you to the main control console. From there, you can overload the system and destroy the base." EDI informed the two. John nodded and was just about to relay this information to the team when Joker spoke again.

"Commander, you got a problem. Hostiles massing just outside the door. Won't be long until they bust through." Joker warned. John held in the string of curses to himself. If the enemies were grouping just outside the door, that left him with only one solution. It wasn't a solution that made him very happy. It had low survival rates. Looking over to the platform, John walked over and climbed aboard, drawing the attention of all his ground team.

"A rearguard could defend this position and keep the Collectors from overwhelming us. I'll pick a team to go with me but everyone else will have to bunker down her and cover my back." He told them. He looked toward Tali, giving her a small nod and then towards Miranda. Miranda was here from day one, and she deserved to see this operation to the very end. And he trusted no one more than Tali at watching his back.

"I'm ready John." Tali told him as she jumped onto the platform with him.

"Anything to say before we do this?" Miranda asked, looking sympathetically at the group before them. She may not have warmed up to the entire group but she would be sorry to see any of them fall. John took a deep breath and looked over his crew. They would need the inspiration. They were about to fight against odds that would make even a complete unit shirk at. They shouldn't worry. They've already completed a task that an entire army would have had trouble doing.

"The Collectors, the Reapers. They aren't a threat to us. They're a threat to everything, to everyone. Those are the lives we're fighting for. That's the scale!" He told them. They needed to remember that they weren't fighting for them, they were fighting for the galaxy. This group of people was fighting for a galaxy that wasn't even aware of what they were doing. "It's been a long journey, and no one is coming out without scars. But it all comes down to this moment. We win or lose it all within the next few minutes. Make me proud. Make yourselves proud." He told them.

"Thanks Shepard. We'll do our best." Garrus promised, looking at his old friend with a look of worry. The rest of the team was nodding, a fire in their eyes that wouldn't be put out even by the coldest of events. He smiled, proud to have had a chance to know all these people before walking into the depths of hell. He turned a look at the two squadmates behind him, nodding for Tali to press the button that would lead them away.  
"I'll see you all on the other side."

* * *

"We are awaiting orders." Legion said the moment the platform was out of sight, turning towards Garrus with an expectant look. Garrus nodded. It only made sense that they would defer to him with Shepard gone. The rest of the team was watching him expectantly.

"Alright. I want three teams. Two covering the front of each door and one in the middle, giving support to both. Samara, Jack, and Jacob, we'll need biotic barriers for each team, so I'm spreading you out. Legion, Johanna, Jack and I will make up Team one in the middle, we'll bring in the most fire and hopefully get you guys enough time to shoot. Samara, Grunt and Thane will make up team two and cover the left doors. Jacob, Zaeed and Kasumi will watch the right side doors. Let's not let one of those bastards through these doors!" Garrus ordered. The team cheered in agreement and ran to their spots.

"I love it when you take charge." Johanna said suggestively as she followed him to the middle.

"Stick around, there's more to come." Garrus said right back, pulling out his sniper and programmed the weapon for ammo piercing rounds. They crowded around Jack, moving anything they could to make something they could hide behind if shots got through the barrier. They were only able to make a few shoddy barricades before the doors gave a massive sigh and began to open. "Here they come!" Garrus warned and prepped his gun.

"Bring 'em on!" Grunt roared as the team fired in tandem, slaughtering the first Collectors through the door. This was going to be a long battle.

* * *

John watched with happiness as the Reaper shuddered, giving way underneath its own weight before collapsing and sending the horrid abomination to the floor. The massive energy signature had been a human reaper embryo. The monster was only partially developed and even EDI couldn't place just how many more humans would have been needed to complete what they had in mind. The only thought on his mind was to destroy the twisted abomination before it had a chance to be completed.

But, certain things were raised to question as the Reaper fell. Why did it resemble a human? The reapers he had seen in his visions and Soveriegn all had one base design, looking similar if not completely the same. EDI claimed that the Reapers forge reapers to look like the race it was made from but he hadn't seen any like that. What made humans special enough to get this? Another was why they were progressing the work of this human Reaper. Surely it would have not only been easier for them but more convieint if they would just process the humans after their galactic wide invasion. No, the mere existence of this Reaper just didn't seem to make sense at all.

"Status report!" He called into his comm as his worried thoughts ventured to his sister down there fighting off the collectors. Thane was the one to answer this.

"We are holding, but a quick exit is preferable!" He called over the loud amount of gunfire sounding around him.

"Get to the Normandy! Joker, prep the engines. I'm about to overload this place and blow it sky high!" He ordered. He needed off this damn station already. He wondered if anyone had fallen while keeping the Collectors off his back. Who had died so he did not? The thought disturbed him and he shook it free of his head. John bent down and pulled up a nearby panel. Tali had told him that it was connected to the mainframe, so overloading the systems here would overload them all across the base. It would put an end to the Collectors once and for all.

"Uh, Commander? I've got an incoming call to the Illusive Man. EDI's patching it through." Joker told him. Something about Joker's voice told him that he was not going to like this call. A holographic image of the Illusive Man sprouted from Miranda's omni-tool, facing John with his hands behind his back and a triumphant look in his eyes.

"Shepard, you've done the impossible." He greeted.

"Not yet. I still have to destroy the base." John told him, typing in the commands that would overload all the critical systems.

"Not necessary. I have a better option. I'm looking at the schematics that EDI uploaded. A timed radiation pulse would kill the remaining Collectors, but leave the machinery and technology intact. This is our chance Shepard. They were building a Reaper. That knowledge—that framework—could save us." The Illusive Man told him. John sighed and shook his head. He should have realized that it would come to this, where the Illusive would change the goal of the mission to benefit himself. He stood up and faced the holographic figure of the Illusive Man.

"They liquefied people. Turned them into something horrible. We have to destroy the base. That's been the mission from day one." He told the man.

"Don't be short-sighted. Our best chance against the Reaper is to turn their own resources against them." The Illusive Man told him calmly but the venom of his voice was clear and evident. John couldn't but remark how much the Illusive Man sounded like a Reaper at the moment. Miranda shook her head, and offered her own opinion.

"I'm not so sure. Seeing it firsthand….using anything from this base seems like a betrayal." The Illusive Man barely regarded her, turning ever so slightly as to glare at her.

"If we ignore this opportunity, that would be a betrayal." He told her. It was clearly a threat at his loyalist causing her to purse her lips and a hard glare coming to her eyes. "They were working directly with the Collectors. Who knows what information is buried there? This base is a gift. We can't just destroy it." John looked at Miranda with a say-all look for a moment before returning his attention back to the man before him.

"No matter what kind of technology we might find. It's not worth it." John told him.

"Shepard. You died fighting for what you believed. I brought you back so you could keep fighting. Some would say what we did to you was going too far. But look what you've accomplished. I didn't discard you because I knew your value. Don't be so quick to discard this facility. Think of the potential!" Miranda's glare was going harder and harder as the man spoke. He was speaking the same way her father had talked about her, like she was a tool to be used or to be flaunted about rather than a human being. The man before her was one of the first people she had worked for that had told her that she wasn't just a tool, that she was a person with feelings and emotions. Even though he had turned her down in favor of the Quarian, she didn't like her employer talking to him like this.

John stared into the eyes of Miranda's employer, staring into with a refusal to back down. As he stared into this man's eyes, he realized something. They may have been a different species, with different resources, different reasons, and a different goal overall, but their eyes were the same. This was the same look Saren had when he spoke about his plan to stop the Reapers.

"We'll fight and win without it. I won't let fear compromise who I am." John told the Illusive Man, turning away from those eyes and going back to the overloading the base. Tali laid one hand on his shoulder as she agreed with his decision, kneeling next to him to help him out. The Illusive Man spun around towards Miranda, ignoring her looks of hate.

"Miranda—Do not let Shepard destroy the base!" He ordered, pointing towards the man behind him.

"Or what? You'll replace me next?" Miranda snapped at him. She remembered what she had seen on Pragia and Aite, scientists so afraid of what would happen to them if they betrayed the Illusive Man that they were willing to perform atrocities. This was not the Cerberus she signed on for, this was not the Cerberus she knew. She was done being controlled.

"I gave you an order, Miranda!" He yelled.

"I noticed. Then consider this my resignation." Miranda told him.

"Shepard! Think about what's at stake. About everything Cerberus has done for you. You…." Miranda cut the channel before the Illusive Man could finish his plea with the man before him.

"Damn, that felt good." She told a smiling John, who wasn't looking at her but was clearly happy about what had transpired. "Let's blow this base to hell." John nodded and continued his work in overloading the systems with help from the two women with him. Eventually, Tali handed him a specialized disk, one that would ordered the overload in about twenty minutes, enough time for them to safely clear the Omega 4 relay. They started to walk back to the platform, only to be stopped as something shook the assembled platforms, almost sending the three to the ground. Before he could even question what had happened, the cause revealed itself.

The three watched in horror as the abomination they thought they had sent into the depths forever slowly climbed into view, making tell-tale Reaper sounds as it's glowing eyes stared at them. "Keelah." Tali said, raising her shotgun. But they both knew that this was nothing more than a pin prick against this massive thing. The only option for victory lay on John's back. The Cain.

* * *

**I have to be honest with you guys. During my first playthrough, I killed myself with the Cain more times than I actually killed my enemy. That thing was a bitch to use, but I figured it would come in handy on the final mission. Long story short, I ended killing myself and having to start the Reaper fight over but no worries, I'm not going to have John do that. Also, I noticed this was a trend in the final two games of the series. You're given the goal to go destroy something then at the last moment a character tells you that you can control them! Anyways, that will be all. No long complicated authors note that explains something I changed because well, it's pretty obvious. Oh wait, I take Miranda for the extra dialogue because its nice to see her bite at her employer. That'll be all.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Update 5/5! And thus the suicide mission comes to a close. Also, I recently checked my story stats and I had over 11,000 views, so thank you guys! Anyways, Read, Enjoy, Review.**

"We're almost to the pickup point!" Garrus yelled as he practically carried Kasumi the rest of the way up the sloping point. The thief had taken a bullet to the stomach when she had flanked a couple of Collector Drones, a stray shot that ripped through her shield and through her clothing. It wasn't life threatening yet, but her ability to walk had been faltering, forcing them carry just to get her free of the Collector's in time, slowing them down even more. But no one was without injuries. Thane had broken his left hand was a Collector had gotten to close and attempted to hit him with the butt of a rifle, Samara was covered is so many cuts and bruises, it seemed her natural skin color was now purple instead of blue, only her reave ability responsible for her being able to walk, Jacob was unable to hold a weapon to a broken arm and Zaeed had taken concussive shot straight to the head, sending the man into the realm of the unconsciousness. Grunt had taken care of carrying him along, still able to fire his mighty shotgun with a single hand but with much less effective results. The only ones were able to put up much of a fight anymore was Johanna, Garrus, Jack and Legion. And even then, their energy was running low and their bullets almost dry.

"Where the frak is that no good pilot?" Grunt roared as he sent a Collector across the room with a well-placed punch. They were running out of room to run, coming to the spot where the Normandy would have been able to pick them up which was off a sheer drop. And they were no condition to stop and hold their position. Joker needed to get here now. Johanna sent a small warp at a Collector drone, hitting it square in the chest, then without missing a beat, she leveled her sniper around and sent a bullet through the head of another. She felt her energy fade at the use of her biotics and felt on the verge of collapse.

She had been in frontline fights before. On Torfan, when a rash commander wiped out half of his platoon just to get the batarians. Her unit had to make up the slack they had caused, barely rescuing the rest of his unit. But this was something different altogether. They were fighting an unthinking enemy, one who cared little for their own lives and only for their destruction. This was a much harder fight. She been so lost in this thought, she failed to notice a concussive shot until it slammed into her chest and sent her into the floor. It knocked the air out of her lungs, leaving her gasping for breath, her bloody mouth barely getting enough oxygen to keep her passing out. She felt a firm grip on her arm as someone lifted her to her feet and dragged her away. Her vision was too blurry to make out who it was, but she could guess from the amount of blue in the blur.

"Damn it. There's too many. We're going to have to try to hold positon." Garrus growled as he pulled her behind cover long enough for her to recover. "Can you still hold a rifle?"

"It was just a concussive shot Garrus. I'm good." She told him, reaching for her sniper. That's when she realized that the sniper was still where she had dropped the weapon, laying on the ground where she had fallen. Damn, she'd really liked that sniper, but going back for it would be just as effective as her putting a gun to her own head. She pulled her Avenger out and hoped her remaining three thermal clips will last long enough to get her out of there. If not, well she hoped that they would at least let her kill enough of those bastards to make her happy. "Well, how many you at?" She wondered to her Turian leader and boyfriend. Garrus gave the Turian equivalent of a smile as he sent another barrage of bullets at the Collectors.

"232….no wait, 233." He told her as he downed a few more Collectors. Johanna laughed and did the same, taking down three.

"That brings my total up to 245. You're slacking Vakarian." She told him. They both knew what this banter was attempting. They were trying to keep their minds off of the growing fear that this would be their final moments in this galaxy. Desperately fighting an enemy that they could not defeat through conventional means.  
"Alert! Normandy's signal detected! Advise proceeding with immediate evacuation procedures." Legion suddenly called, turning towards drop they had their back too. Johanna and Garrus turned just in time to see the beautiful sight of the Normandy fly around a corner, pulling close enough for them to step onto the airlock.

"Let's move it!" Grunt roared, scooping up the nearest person, which happened to be a very surprised Samara, who let out a rather girly squeak, and charging for the airlock. Jacob and Thane followed, both firing pistols with their good arms, trying to be as supportive as they could. Jack ran over to where Garrus and Johanna were standing, Kasumi beginning to rely more and more on Garrus for support as her suit grew redder and redder.  
"What the fuck are you waiting for? The Collector's goodbye party!? Move your asses!" She ordered, grabbing Kasumi from Garrus and practically sprinted towards the Normandy, Kasumi's feet barely touching the ground. A concussive shot threatened to take her down but a well-placed biotic barrier prevented it from reaching her and allowed her to get into the airlock in time. Garrus and Johanna nodded and sprinted forward, holding their assault rifles behind them and blindfiring as they ran. There was only one thing left to do. Get a certain trouble maker from the Collectors.

* * *

John forced his eyes opened, aware of his face against the rough ground of the Collector base. Something was on his back, pressing him down into the floor and trying to pin him. He slowly pushed himself up, the metal sliding off his back with ease as he got up. Where the hell was he? The last thing he remembered was firing a shot from the Cain into the eye sockets of the Reaper, causing the abomination to explode in a twisted blossom of fire and metal. The explosion had killed the system on all the platforms, sending Tali…..He suddenly felt a surge of energy as he remembered it. Tali had been sent sliding across the platform. He remembered diving after her, mere millimeters away from pulling her to safety before she suddenly fell, threatening to follow the demise of the Reaper. He remembered grabbing at her, thinking that it was an all or nothing attempt. Either he got her or they both died.  
He turned his head to the side and saw the relieving sight of a Quarian form on the other side of the area he was. She was lying on her side, unconscious and dangerously close to edge but her chest was moving up and down in the wonderful sight of her breathing. He stood up and rushed over to her, pulling her from where she was hanging and looking at her for any suit breaches. He was so relieved that he hadn't even noticed the two luminescent eyes staring at him as he did so. He nodded to her with a smile and turned his attention to look for his other team mate as he pulled Tali to her feet. Now was not the time to exchange pleasantries. The fight with the Reaper left them with only five minutes to get to the Normandy and get the hell out of the blast zone.

After pushing a rather heavy piece of metal off of Miranda and rousing the woman from the unconscious, John pulled her to her feet, hoping that she would be well enough to walk. Besides a rather nasty gash across the left cheek, she seemed perfectly fine. He could already see the fibers of her skin struggling to reconnect the two sides, her engineered genes working in her favor. He nodded, glad both of his teammates made it out alive and assessed his own injuries. A gash was just above his eye, oozing blood that threatened to blind that one eye, and his chest hurt with every breath, suggesting broken ribs. He laughed at this, only making the pain worse, and silently remarked to himself how if anyone made it without taking damage, he would personally salute them. His comm cackled as a familiar voice finally broke through the static, panicked and worried but one of the most relieving voices he had ever heard.

"Do you copy? Come on, Shepard, don't leave me hanging. Do you copy?" Joker said on his comm. John grabbed his comm and paced around where he was standing looking for an exit.

"I'm here Joker. Did the ground team make it?" He asked, following the only exit with his eyes to make sure it didn't lead to a dead end. There was a moment of tense silence, one John thought would end with bad news but Joker just laughed.

"Everyone's pretty banged up but alive Commander. We're just waiting for you." Joker told him. John smiled and almost let out a relieved laugh. Who dare had told him that he had to lead a mission that doomed those who took it on?

"Shepard!" Miranda yelled, drawing his attention behind them just in time to see a massive seeker swarm approaching. The unspoken order surged through them and the three turned, sprinting down the only exit. There was no time for to see whether this was a dead end or not. His Kuwashii visor updated as EDI loaded him coordinates for an evacuation site, giving him a direct route to follow.

"Human, you have changed nothing." A voice reverberated from around him. They didn't stop to look for the maker of the voice or to listen, knowing they needed to escape. But it was unmistakable who this voice belonged to. John turned and fired two shots from his pistol at the approaching swarm, causing them to scatter and momentarily disrupt their chase, so his two teammates could get a farther lead. The damage to the station must have taken its toll, the swarms recovering much slower than normal. "Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater." John feet pounded on the floor as he shouted order of where to go to the two before him. There was no use fighting the seeker swarm, it would do no good. His two teammates had a fair lead on him but he was catching up. "That which you know as Reaper is your salvation through destruction." The base began to shake as one by one the systems began to overload. But this was only the small systems, the computer and laboratory equipment. They had to escape before the system for building the Reaper let loose its colossal blast. Collectors began to pour out of the walls after them as well, determined to at fell the man that would be their demise. Tali dodged underneath a torrent of bullets, barely getting out of the blast radius of an explosion as she ran. If only they had their weapons. They were almost to pick up point, they were running out of space to run. That's when the Normandy slowly emerged from beneath them, like an angel of light protecting them from death.

The Normandy wheeled around, the airlock opening and giving way to Joker and Johanna, who were standing there with Avenger rifles. They raised it and shot at the approaching Collectors. Joker's aim was poor and the gun recoil was getting the better of him but his support helped stop the approaching Collectors. Debris began to fall from the ceiling, a massive piece of metal slamming into the wall next to the walkway. Tali and Miranda reached the Normandy, leaping onboard and turning to wait for their Commander, both desperately wishing they had a rifle. He was almost there, almost to the ship. Just as he though this, another piece of debris fell, largely than the last one, and hit the walkway up to the Normandy, sending two of the platform down into the abyss of the base. No time to stop, no time to stop! John picked his speed to the fastest he could go and leapt with all his might, stretching his arms out as he went. Time seemed to slow as John realized something horrifying. He didn't have enough speed to get into the airlock.

He was just short of landing in the airlock, slamming into the side and barely catching the ledge before plummeting into the drop below. All the air was knocked out of him, making the thought of pulling himself up one of great effort and if his ribs weren't broken before, they were now. However, just as his grip on the ledge began to slacken, a three fingered hand shot out and latched onto his arm, pulling him up with unnatural strength. Without saying anything between them, they sprinted back into the Normandy, Joker throwing the Avenger to the side with little care and Johanna placing hers on her back. "Yeah, I get the gist of it EDI!" Joker yelled at the AI as she was beginning a ten second countdown of the overload of the main systems. Despite being in the Collector base still, Joker hit the accelerate button, sending them out of the base just as a massive explosion rocked the base. Without even a bit of hesitation, Joker gave the Normandy the fastest speed short of FTL flight and they soared towards the relay.

"You have failed, we will find another way." John looked at the base as it continued to explode. The Normandy's intercom was projecting the final death throes of the Collector General, but no one stopped long enough to kick the Collector out of the system. "Releasing control." That was the last they heard of Harbinger, the intercom going dead with static after a large explosion. John looked behind him as the explosion tore apart the base, a massive radiation shockwave that trailed them dangerously. Exposure to radiation of that magnitude would fry every system on the Normandy, leaving them nothing more than a husk in space. Joker, at the last moment, as the shockwave was mere inches away from the ship, hit the FTL flight, leaving the explosion behind.

* * *

**And thus the suicide mission comes to a satisfying close. Everyone survives and everyone lives. Hoped the suicide mission was written to your tastes, if not then I hope it at least gave you a few minutes of joy. There will be two more final chapters that will wrap up ME2, so it's not over just yet. I am currently working on a Forever Family, ME3, but I'm going to post it as a separate story. Umm, oh yeah, that changed dialogue. I noticed that if you get through the suicide mission perfectly, a lot of the dialogue seems misplaced, like Bioware really expected you to go through your first run by losing someone. And my first run went perfectly, so it sounded like John was just imagining things. **


	24. Chapter 24

**Heyo! Second to last Forever Family ME2 chapter! The last two are pretty short, sticking with the policy of Short but sweet. Hope you enjoy! Read, Enjoy, Review. **

"Shepard. You're making a habit of costing me more time and money." The Illusive Man greeted John as the hologram barely registered. John shook his head at the obvious venom in the man's voice, only having contacted him for one final word. The Illusive Man was speaking calmly but his eyes told a different story. Saren's eyes. They threatened all the things Saren had. Pain. Suffering. Loss.

"Too many lives were lost at the base. I'm not sorry it's gone." John told him.

"The first of many lives." The Illusive Man responded. "The technology from that base could have secured human dominance in the galaxy. Against the Reapers and beyond" Typical. After all this, the Illusive Man still thought about the humans above all the other species. The Reapers weren't a problem for a single race or even a single star system. This was a galactic wide threat, larger than the Krogan Rebellion and larger than the Rachni Wars. This one ended only one way. Either the Reapers die, or they did.

"Human dominance isn't important. What's important is that we stop fighting each other and find a way to stop the Reapers without turning into them. Besides, I'm sure your idea of human dominance is actually Cerberus dominance." John questioned the Illusive Man.

"Strength for Cerberus is strength for every human. Cerberus is humanity." The Illusive Man growled at him, standing from his chair and storming over to John. "I should have known you'd choke on the hard decisions. Too idealistic from the start!"

"I'm not looking for your approval!" John replied, leaning close to him. Despite this was just a hologram, John was ready for a fight. "Harbinger is coming and he won't be alone. Humanity needs a leader who's looking out for them. From now on, I'm doing things my way, whether you agree or not!" John turned to leave, already sick of dealing with the man in front of him.

"Don't turn your back on me Shepard! I made you! I brought you back from the dead!" The Illusive Man snapped at him, his voice heavy with anger.

"Joker. Lose this channel." John told his pilot, without even turning to acknowledge the Illusive Man. He could hear the Reaper like growl behind him as he walked out of the hologram leaving the Illusive Man behind him. As he stepped out, the strength from facing the Illusive Man failed him, causing him to stumble, only to be caught by a familiar form. He looked up, smiling into the purple visor of his Quarian girlfriend as she steadied him. "Fancy meeting you here." He told her.

"Come on, you crazy bosh'tet. You've lost too much blood and you need to get to the medical bay." She told him, helping him limp from the room. He didn't protest, barely able to stand without her help.

* * *

When Johanna looked at the new entry of the room, she wasn't surprised to see her brother limping in, leaning on his girlfriend for support. His face was almost covered in blood from the gash above his eyes, and his eyes looked extremely tired. She rushed over, getting her brother underneath the other arm and helping Tali carry him to the only empty bed in the room. Those who didn't have serious injuries had already left, helping repair what they could with the Normandy. Thane and Jacob were still there, their arms in splints and given sedatives to control the pain until Chakwas could get to them. Kasumi was unconscious on one of the beds, her wound closed but having lost too much blood for her to be moving about. Samara insisted she was capable of going without medical attention but didn't protest too much when Chakwas had ordered her to remain in the med-lab, her injuries more extensive than previously thought. She currently meditated on the floor, giving her bed to Hawthorne, who had been severely injured when the Collectors stormed their ship. Apparently, a Scion had managed to break a good number of his bones when he attempted to protect Joker.

The others had either been lucky enough not to be hurt, either incapable of feeling pain, been really lucky, or had an extremely good healing factor. Jack had gone below decks with Grunt and Legion to help the engineers with the heavy lifting, Garrus had retreated into the main battery to fix any damage caused to his guns and Miranda gone back to her quarters to deal with some personal issues. Johanna had just about been able to leave herself but decided she better stick around to make sure that her brother was okay. Chakwas saw them set him down and immediately hurried over from where she was standing over Samara. She quickly scanned him with her omni-tool, making notes both mentally and electronically as she checked his wounds. "Well, Shepard, it's nothing serious. I will have to staunch the blood flow from your wound and you do have more than a few broken ribs but this is mild compared to other times you've been in my office." She told him, forcing him to lie back as she prepared a helping of medi-gel for his forehead.

"Tali, you should back to engineering. Ken and Gabby are going to need your help." Johanna told her. Tali hesitating, looking towards John with a worried stance but Johanna patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'll keep the big lump out of trouble." She promised. Tali nodded but it was still a few minutes before she left, making sure Chakwas didn't need her for anything. Once Tali was gone, Chakwas immediately went to work patching up John. She made him strip down into nothing but his underwear, applying medi-gel to the affected areas. Her brother looked worse than Johanna had thought, his chest and back covered in angry bruises that made her brother flinch at the mere touch. After applying the medi-gel where she could and wrapping his ribs in loose bandage to prevent them from being broken again.

"I'm going to give you some paracetamol for the pain and you're free to go. Just no jumping off of cliffs for the next week and avoid wearing your armor as much as possible." Chakwas told him. John laughed, stopping only to hold hid ribs in pain.

"No promises Chakwas." He told her.

"Young man, I can still confine you to medical bay." Chakwas threatened light-heartedly. Johanna was glad she was doing better. Mordin had mentioned some emotional trauma would be present in all of them but she seemed to be doing fine for now. Johanna waited for her brother to dress in a crewman's Cerberus outfit, before finally talking to him.

"So, you've saved the entire galaxy again." She mentioned as they began to walk out. Her brother was walking as slow as she allowed, still trying to act as though he wasn't in pain. The painkillers were still taking time to get into his system.

"No, we saved the galaxy." John told her, patting her on the back. She opened her mouth to argue but stopped with a smile.

"Damn right I did." She said, raising her head and inflating her chest. "Do you think that I can get SPECTRE status as well?" She elbowed him slightly in the ribs, not enough to cause him major pain but enough to give him a slight jolt. He glared at her for a moment before laughing and shaking his head.

"Not going back to the Alliance?" He asked as they reached the elevator. Johanna sighed and lowered her head. She would be lying if she said that she hadn't considered it. She'd never officially left the Alliance, just disappearing one night without warning. With the title of Galactic Defender backing her up now, they were bound to accept her back. With some restrictions, of course. But….she had spent so long living by her own rules and making her own decisions she wasn't sure if she was right for that life anymore. She would probably be court martialed for smartass remarks within a week.

"I don't know. I'll think about it." Johanna told him as the elevator arrived. She stepped in and hit the button to Engineering. "Do you think they would proud of us?" The brief thoughts flashed through her head. Of mom, of Alan, of their dad.

"Who isn't proud of the title Galactic Hero?" John told her. "I can already imagine Alan saying: 'What? You didn't take me along? What kind of siblings leave their older brother out of a good suicide mission?'" He told her, giving a perfect imitation on what their brother used to act like. She smiled as she imagined Alan saying, the words fitting perfectly to the memory.

"Or mom saying 'The Shepard name will live on forever, thanks in no small part to you. And if they don't remember, we will.'" Johanna added her own imitation. John smiled and nodded.

"Or dad's: 'I remember the first day I took you shooting. John broke his tooth and you cried the whole time. Now look at you. Galactic Heroes!" John finished the final one. They both smiled, refusing to let their foul childhood memories ruin this good time. Both of them could almost see their parents in their head as the elevator slowly dropped, standing behind them, both with a hands on their childrens' shoulders, smiling down warmly at them with Alan standing behind them with a military salute. The thought was as good as if it had actually happened.  
"So, the galaxy has been saved and we've told the Illusive Man to shove it. What's next for the fearless hero?" Johanna asked as the elevator arrived.

"We never did get to finish our shore leave."

* * *

**You can see where I'm going with this final chapter. Anyways, didn't really change anything with the Canon ending except the fact that almost no one was injured in the battle besides Hawthorne. I think Jack is supposed to have some sort of healing factor, with her implants and whatnot, she even says they prevent her from getting too drunk or hungover. **


	25. Chapter 25

**So I accidently spilt a giant cup of water on my computer yesterday, and was worried that it would never work again. But, thankful for quick thinking, I managed to free the battery and save the computer before it shorted out. So, to celebrate this occasion, I am going to update Forever Family with its finale! Be warned...Fluff! Read, Enjoy, Review.**

The vibrant sounds of the club and large crowds greeted the Normandy team as they stepped into the most popular night club in the citadel. A simple drop of his name and the bouncer almost rushed him. Even now, he could see some people stopping their dancing to stop and look at him as he entered. The crew separated from there. Jack, Zaeed and Grunt immediately found their way to the bar and engaged in a fierce drinking competition while Thane and Samara found a quiet VIP room and were talked while watching the copious amount of people coming in. Legion found the nearest corner, his electronics whirring and clicking as he too observed the organics in the room, no one paying him much mind anymore. Kasumi disappeared and John would occasionally see her tactical cloak shimmer beside Jacob, who was at the bar with Miranda, engaging in a far less vicious drinking contest. This left Tali, John, Johanna and Garrus at a table by themselves, watching the crowds dance as they talked and joked the night away. They all wore their casual outfits for a change, Garrus in his turian suit, Johanna in her sweater and John in his N7 jacket.

"Okay….so my sister, determined not to let this guy talk to her like that, grabs him by his mandible and throws him into the wall. It takes my dad and me to pull her off, but not before this guy is all bloody and barely recognizable. He tried to get my sister turned in, but my dad's friend ran the C-Sec branch where he reported her and he knew what really happened." Garrus told them through laughs as he remembered one his funny stories. The three with him laughed in joy at this, as more stories were brought to mind. Tali laughed as much as she could without being interrupted from a rather nasty cough which caused a worried glance from those at the table before she could assure she was alright and she wanted to hear more stories.

"Okay, our brother Alan, had the appetite of a krogan. He could eat an entire buffet worth of food at any time. One day, he found some old food we had back in the freezer and ate it for lunch without giving it any thought. The next thing we know, he's puking everywhere and we have to rush him to hospital to get his stomach pumped. Turns out, he ate some three month old seafood we had in there. Doctors said it was a miracle that he wasn't comatose by the time they got it all." Johanna told them, remembering that day with fondness. Her and her brother were hardly picky eaters but even they had been grossed out by their older brother as the day went on.

"That's not even the best part. After his stomach is pumped and he's confined to the hospital for three days, the moment he's awake, he asks for something to eat." John finished, laughing harder than he probably should. The alcohol was starting to make things fuzzy and cloud his mind. The table laughed with him anyways and so the night continued on like this. They each traded stories when the other was done, learning more about their families and giving each a fairly good laugh until they were done. Then they sat in silence for a few moment, looking at the club around them.

It was almost three hours since they first walked into the club, and the amount of people had only picked up. No doubt the reason being because John was there, laughing jovially and hanging out with strange people despite being dead. Rumors that he was really alive had already circulated the Citadel twice and many were coming for proof. The others were receiving a far bit of attention as well, with Jack showing some of the younger customers how impressive her biotics were by lifting tables with ease. They looked as though they had just found the best ride in an amusement park. Grunt had found a group of Krogan warrior and was now telling tales of his adventures with John, impressing them with the enemies that he had fought. They seemed particularly eager to hear about Grunt's battles with the Collectors. Zaeed had even found an asari that he was hitting on, though the attempts were largely unsuccessful. It was as if they hadn't been near death only a few days, walking into odds that had guaranteed at least some of them would die.

"Well, I think I'm drunk enough to do this." Garrus finally mentioned, standing up from where he was. Johanna watched him with a smile, wondering what thing he had planned. He walked over to her and gently grabbed one of her hands, questions flying about in his tablemates head at what he was going to do. Suddenly he pulled Johanna out of her chair and without a warning to anyone, began to drag her to the dance floor. Johanna's smile immediately fell and she tried to dig into the ground to prevent being dragged towards the writhing mass of people.

"No, no, no, no, no." Johanna protested the whole way, her shoes hardly able to give her any traction against the Turian pulling her. It wasn't long before she disappeared into the crowd, leaving behind a laughing Tali and John. It was almost common knowledge that the Shepard family had never inherited the dancing gene, both John and Johanna idea of dancing was stepping back and forth while moving their shoulders up and down. John looked at where Garrus had disappeared with his sister, seeing the top of his turian fringe with his sister's bright red hair just above the crowd. He smiled and drained his drink, his mind on one thing. However, the moment he stood from his table, he was approached by an asari.

To say the Asari wasn't pretty would be a serious insult, as she clearly was used to men and women fawning over her. In fact, she looked familiar, like John had seen her face before. "Hello, my name is Nessaria, I'm the spokeswoman for Illium Blue Cosmetics. I was wondering….would you like to dance?" She asked in her most flirtatious and girly voice. He could see Tali's fist clenching up a little at this but she just looked down and away from them. That would explain why the asari looked so familiar. He'd been on Illium enough times to see one of her advertisements.

"Sorry, but I'm here with my girlfriend." John told the Asari with a forgiving voice. She giggled and looked at the table he was sitting at.

"I don't see her." Nessaria said, not meaning to sound cruel but it coming out as such. Tali set her glass on the table and began to wring her hands together as this continued. John smiled at the Asari, only keeping his twinge of anger in check with a slight hope that she didn't mean what she had said.

"She is sitting right there." John told the woman, motioning to the Quarian who was sitting across from him. Tali raised her head and stared at the Asari as she looked at her. The Asari's face immediately turned into a mix of emotions, processed so fast that John wasn't sure what they held. She finally settled on confused, looking back and forth between John and Tali as if just processing what he said.

"Oh….I didn't…..a Quarian?" Was the first string of words that was out of Nessaria's mouth as she stumbled over her words. John turned off his smile and raised a single eyebrow, causing the asari to backtrack on her words. "No….I didn't mean it like…..I just thought… You can't even get through her suit without an hour of decontamination." Tali flinched a little. These were the fears that she thought she had overcome already.

"And you think I care about someone only based on how fast I can get into their pants?" John questioned with implicating tone, leaning forward and folding his hands in front of him as he did so.

"But you can't even see her face." Nessaria argued. John felt his anger rising and let it show on his face, giving the woman before him a look that clearly stated she should stop talking. "I think I'll just go." With that, the Asari walked away from the table, rubbing her head with frustration while mumbling a variety of things. John smiled and looked over to Tali as she looked at him. It was now or never. He stood up and went around the table to in front of Tali.

"Can I have this dance, Miss vas Normandy?" He said, holding out his hand.

"Here? But people will see, and I don't want you to be embarrassed." She began to stutter out as she sat there, wringing her hands together as she spoke.

"Tali please. I've come to terms with my horrid dancing." He told her, despite knowing what she meant. Her body language relaxed a little but she still hesitated at the proposal, reaching out and taking his hand.

"I understand if you need to find something…someone….else. Not that I'm complaining that you're still interested." She stumbled out as he pulled her out of her seat and onto the dance floor. She saw out of the corner of her eye as a lot of people stopped what they were doing to watch the Commander Shepard pull a Quarian onto the dance floor. Some didn't care, and the ones who did were mostly men and women who had had their eyes on John all night. Slowly, she started walking with John's pull as his simple refusal to acknowledge her telling him that it was okay to dump her as a confidence boost.

"Look who made it out." Garrus mentioned as they pulled into the center of the crowd. Johanna still looked upset to be out there, but was doing the signature Shepard dance with Garrus. Garrus wasn't dancing any better, flailing his arms about and taking steps that threatened to trip him. He could hear some people snickering at it but Garrus didn't seem to care, continuing on as if he didn't even hear them.

"You get pulled out too?" Johanna laughed as John let go of Tali. She lifted her head and John could feel her smile underneath the helmet. "Alright, We'll teach them who's in charge later." She turned her attention back to the Turian before and resumed their dancing. Tali nodded and began to join them, tentivaly at first but more energetic as she went. She was aware of people's attention being drawn to her, but for once, she didn't care. John was hers and she was his, and damn anyone else who thought so. They continued for many minutes, dancing and ignoring the people around them who were whispering about the four. Tali couldn't help but notice how hot her suit was getting thanks to the fever she had, making her think of something.

"Just so you know, I'm running a fever, I've got a nasty cough, and my sinuses are filled with something I can't even describe. And it was totally worth it."

* * *

**Ah, one of the best lines in the Mass Effect Universe. If you're a Talimancer that is. (By the way, who came up with Talimancer?) Anyways, basically a continuation of the shore leave, and letting me add what fluff I could. It also has Tali's lines fit better in here than on the Normandy. It gives her a reason to do that. But anyways, yeah. And thus this is the epic conclusion of Forever Family, ME2. Stay tuned for some one-shots, short series and eventually, Forever Family ME3. BTW, I have updated a few of the older chapters by fixing some of the mistakes that I had made but didn't catch, so hopefully they make more sense now. **


	26. Chapter 26

**In conclusion to the ending of my first full length fanfic, I figured I should post somethings. Thoughts processes, why I chose what I did, my thoughts on Romances, and some things that may have changed the story. This won't affect the story in any way, just an "bonus" feature if you will.**

With the conclusion of the first installment of Forever Family, I felt I should add a little extra. A few things that I changed that would have made this story much different than before.

1. Johanna was originally part of the first Normandy crew. This would have changed her character immensely. Originally, after the death of her brother, she joined C-Sec with Garrus and then eventually accompanied him to Omega during his Archangel era, going by the name Valkyrie. This would have lead her to a much more brash and hotheaded personality.

2. They both had originally been on Elysium together. Johanna did have her squad die on Akuze but due to a certain circumstance she had been confined to the ships med-bay when they were killed, sparing her the mental strain of watching her squad die. I eventually changed this because it fit with her going AWOL.

3. Johanna originally didn't smoke. Johanna is somewhat of a heavy smoker or I tried to play her off as such, which eventually led her to her disease. (and while I don't deny it had little impact in the first, it will come up later.). I added this because, the only people who ever see smoking are bad guys and of them, two. While writing the story, I realized the benefit of characterization that came with this and thus was born a terminally ill Johanna.

4. John was more of a sentinel class like most of my Shepards but I decided that a powerful biotic fit his personality better. I've notice that the characters with the highest biotic powers are played off as the personality I attempt to give John.

_**My thoughts on Romances:**_

Jack: I like Jack, more as a friend than a LI. She's tough and she doesn't take any shit from anyone even if he views are a little screwed. Her romance is more for the drama than it is for anything else however, and most of the dialogue towards her is largely renegade even if you have a purely paragon Shepard. To me, Jack struck me more as someone who needed a friend more than she needed someone to bang her into sanity. But still, she's one of the more sensible romance options when looked at.

Miranda: I hated Miranda in ME2. She's almost forced down your throat in every mission important to the main story. Her Romance seems more like a fling than anything. (And Shepard's rape face doesn't help). I like her better overall in ME3 because she's less important and therefore not shown as much, plus her character is given more definition as something beyond perfect cheerleader who cares for her sister. Essentially, she's a good friend but a weak romance.

Ashley: I have mixed thoughts on Ashley. She softens up if you romance her, but its really hard to get past her xenophobia. Espicially that line on the Presidium in the first game. Ugh. But other than that, her romance is well written and is good, given to an unbiased person. But her betrayal on Horizon and blatant xenophobia makes it hard to care for her past ME2. And yes, I know she apologizes through email, but that's like throat punching someone and then saying sorry because you didn't know it would hurt. You said sorry, but that doesn't mean they're going to stop choking. Personally, she strikes me more as that tomboy best friend for male Shepard or regular best friend for femshep.

Liara: This romance is popular, and is pretty well written given my opinion, but I couldn't help but feel that she was introduced purely for the fact of being able to bone a blue alien chick. That's what I get from her conversation. She starts as a dorky, smart type with no social skills and is essentially played off as a virgin practically begging for the Commander to bone her. She has a rather creepy obsession in ME1 that initially steers me away from her. In the next two games, she comes off better and the romance becomes less about banging a blue chick but still, her romance is third best at most, tied with Jack.

Diana Allers:….No…

Tali: Clearly the best romance in my opinion. You're presented with the best friend gone girlfriend syndrome. I like her best because Tali stands by you no matter what decisions you make. IF you kill her entire race, she apologizes to you before killing herself, showing her devotion to you (Male or female). She's played off as an Admirer but not the extent as Liara though she does suffer from the virgin syndrome that plays off some love interests but isn't given the same graphic scene as Liara. But to me, the lack of a sex scene in both Mass Effects tells me that you don't need to see Tali naked to love her. It's her personality that makes her so popular. The fact that she cares more for how Shepard feels than how she feels proves my point.

Cortez: Nicely written but I can't shake the feeling this was thrown in mostly because they wanted to make an exclusively gay option for male Shepard. Its good, but they could have done better is all I'm saying.

**Femshep! (She kinds of gets screwed in the Romance options if you ask me.)**

Kaiden: Bit of a whiner at first and kinda of odd. But like Ash, a lot of effort was put into writing his romance. He gets a lot more character development during romance but again, much the same reason as with Ash. The betrayal makes it hard to watch his romance but he's definitely more tolerable than Ash due to his lack of xenohobia, (which is why he survives the mission a lot more often than Ash does)

Jacob: I'm not so sure why so many people were surprise when Jacob cheated on Femshep. Given his dialogue, he had trouble committing to stuff. His work with the Alliance, his father, he wasn't even fully committed to Cerberus, blatantly telling Shepard that he didn't trust the organization but still worked for them anyways. It's not because he was the black guy of the group. That, and straight out of his romance dialogue, you can pretty much tell that it was a one night stand. It was pretty much how long it would take to seduce him. The priiiize! I mean, come on people.

Thane: Again, another one I don't understand why so many people were upset about. You were told that he only had a few months to live and yet some people look at this guy and is like: "I'm going to make a guy who's completely content with his fate fall for me and give him a reason to keep living. That's going to go over so well." Personally, I think his romance is more cruel than it is heart warming. It's like giving a cancer patient that going to die the next day a winning lottery ticket. But his romance is rather sweet when looked at, and I understand why his romance is somewhat popular.

Garrus: I like Garrus's, second romance overall, best femshep romance. Unlike Tali and Liara, he isn't given the virgin syndrome but they still manage to pull off his awkwardness towards the relationship. It allows you to see a side to him that he otherwise keeps to himself, and it also helps him deal with the emotional trauma. Unlike Jack, his problems stem from people being taken from him rather than them betraying him, making romance make sense in his case. Again, the lack of a sex scene tells me that his romance is purely for his character and not because you get to see him naked.

Diana Allers:….Still no…..But I guess you deserve an actual explanation. Poorly written, terrible acting, lack of any real emotion behind it. Even the encounter with Sha'ira is better written than this pile of garbage. All offense to Allers lovers.

Liara: Same applies as above. Except, you know, lesbian sex. I think they are going to try to make this the cannon romance because they made it available to both romances right away doubling her ratings. Following the votes individually, Garrus and Tali far outstrip Liara in the Romance race but if put together, she's technically in the lead. Bah.

Traynor: Dorky lesbian sex essentially. Traynor's a cool gal, and her character is pretty funny and a great addition to ME3, but she's the female version of the Cortez romance with the ME1 Liara personality. Just is a different aspect instead of a socially awkward.


End file.
